Attack on Alchemy
by Paint-The-World-Mad
Summary: After he is trapped in 1920's Europe, Edward runs into his Aunt Karla who he hasn't seen since he was a year old. Together, they try to return to their world, and are instead rocketed into a horrific time neither of them could have imagined. (Rated T for violence, largely in later, unpublished chapters)
1. Chapter 1

(A/N) I just want to clarify, this fic has NOTHING to do with FMA Brotherhood. It starts seven months to a year after the end of the 2003 version of FMA, and almost immediately after the end of the first season of SNK (Attack on Titan). Obviously there are spoilers if you haven't finished either of these series. Enjoy!

* * *

ED

The jolt of the train woke him. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes and sat up. His silver pocket watch sat on the suitcase next to him. He flipped it open. _6:47. _Not a bad time to be up, his stop was at eight. Yawning, he braided his long, blond hair down his back and dressed himself. He'd spent the last seven months dedicated to getting back. Back to the other side of the gate, back to Al. He was close now, he could feel it. He'd compiled the works of many scientists and engineers and now he only needed a small amount of information before he could test his device. The only other time he'd passed through the gate "backwards" was when his alternate self had died. That had provided the energy required to re-open the gate. However, this time his body had also been pulled through, automail and all. Not even the death toll of WWI could provide the energy he needed. Quietly, so as to not disturb the ban sleeping in the bunk across from him, Ed pulled out the blueprints he's made. If the man he was going to see had the info he needed, the device would be up and running, maybe within the week. He needed to confirm that there were no major design flaws.

The contraption was elegant in design. An opaque white booth of sorts housed both the computer needed to control the device, and a space for one, maybe two, people to stand in. The compute was large, bulky, and fragile, which is why it required the case. It also needed a considerable amount of power to run, power which, if used correctly, could very possibly re-open the gate. That power was the last aspect he needed. The man he was going to see had theories of a "fusion" of atoms which provided a huge energy release. He was thought to be a madman, but Ed found hope in his work.

Everything in the design checked out. It seemed like it would hold, and force the gate open. Ed carefully slipped the plans back into his suitcase as the other man stirred. He rolled over and looked at Ed.

"You're up early, aren't you, - what was it?"

"Edward"

"Edward," the man nodded, "You seem like a strange kid, traveling around without your mum and pop." Ed looked at his feet. He didn't want to say it out loud, but the words stung. His mom was the reason he was in this situation in the first place. If she hadn't died- his gloved hands clenched into fists. He couldn't blame his mom; really he couldn't blame anyone but himself. His fists relaxed when he noticed the other man staring.

"It's not that strange, I just needed the freedom."

The other man nodded, skeptical, but without the desire to press. "You getting off at eight?" Ed nodded. "Well, good luck with whatever you're doing." The man smiled, and Ed reservedly returned it.

Soon after, the train slowed and skidded to a halt. Ed got off and began shoving his way through the busy station. Suddenly he stopped short. Standing not a meter away was his mom. Or at least, someone who looked almost exactly like her. They had the same eyes, the same face, the same gentle smile. The only difference was that her hair was slightly darker. Ed shook his head, he knew there would likely be duplicates of everyone he knew, the fact that she looked like his mom didn't mean anything. He glanced back at her, and their eyes met. "Hohenheim?" she mouthed.

Ed was startled. How did she know that name? The woman pushed her way through the crowd to him. She grabbed his face and looked into his eyes. She quickly dropped her hands and looked at her feet. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. You just look like someone I know." She looked up at him and smiled slightly, "Karla, by the way."

"Edward, and you're fine." Looking at her closer, Ed noticed that she was young, maybe a year or two older than himself. Her eyes clouded over.

"Edward? That was his name… but it's only been a year…" she muttered. Looking back at him, she said, "Do you want to move away from here? I have a couple questions."

"Sure," Ed nodded, and they maneuvered out of the station and onto the considerably less busy street.

"Okay, this is going to sound like a seriously weird question, and I promise I'm not crazy, but what's your mother's name?"

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry; I know that's a strange thing to ask."

"Trisha," Ed answered. Karla looked up at him. "My mom's name was Trisha."

"Trisha? Oh my gosh, you're Ed Elric, aren't you? But, you weren't even a year old…"

"Okay, who the hell are you?" Ed demanded, "How do you know my name, how do you know my mom, and _why_ do you look like her?"

"Ed, Ed, calm down," She put her hands on his shoulders and looked down into his face, "Ed, I'm Trisha's younger sister. I got pulled into this world when you were just a baby," confusion clouded her face, "But I've been here less than a year…"

"I don't think the timeline matches up. It was 1914 when I left my, our world, and it's 1921 here. So it's very likely that fifteen years in one world could only be a few months in the other," Ed theorized.

Karla thought, "Yeah that makes sense. But fifteen years? What happened? How's Trisha?"

Ed looked down at his feet, "Mom died seven years ago. Fever. We couldn't do anything." His eyes watered, and threatened to overflow. Karla gathered him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry," she said into his hair, tears wetting her cheeks. Typically, he wouldn't have let her hold him like this, like a child. But now was different. Though he had no memory of her, she was familiar and comforting. For the first time in seven months, Ed relaxed. She pulled back and held him at arm's length. She smiled, her wet cheeks glistening in the morning sun, "You look like your father."

"More than I'd like," Ed grimaced. The thought of his father still made him uneasy. Karla's face fell.

"Ed, what happened?"

"He left her. Right after Al was born he left and didn't come back for fourteen years. FOURTEEN YEARS." His fists and jaw clenched, he glared at a spot on the ground past his feet.

"Oh Ed, I'm so sorry," Karla's eyes were full of sadness. "Ed did you, did you try to bring your mom back?"

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Ed spat through clenched teeth.

Karla nodded sympathetically, "We can go to my house if you want." Ed gave a short nod of consent.

* * *

"You can leave your coat there," Karla gestured to a tall metal coat rack. Hesitantly, Ed removed his coat and hung it up. Karla motioned him over to the small living room and sat him down. "Ed, I know this is a touchy subject, but I need you to tell me how you got over here."

Ed folded his arms across his chest, "I could ask you the same question." Karla looked down at her hands.

"I suppose you could, and you should," She looked back up at him. "I guess I'm going first then." Ed sat back in his chair, arms still folded.

"Yes, you are."

She sighed and looked away. "I've been studying alchemy since I was six. Trisha always encouraged it, and supported me, but she never wanted to try it on her own. I loved it. I loved having the power to change things, it… it made me feel wonderful. When I was sixteen I met a wonderful young man. He was a few years older than me, but we didn't care. We were going to get married but…" Karla's face tensed and she clutched her skirt in her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I was so bitter. Trisha had just had you, she seemed so happy. I wanted that. So… so I tried to bring him back. It was so stupid, but… I had to. It went wrong, horribly wrong. Something was staring back at me, but it wasn't him. It wasn't human. I turned around and there was this door, this… gate. It opened and I was pulled though. I screamed and fought, but it took me." She looked back at him, her eyes wet with unshed tears, "I ended up here." There was a moment of silence.

"I saw him."

"What?"

Ed looked up into her eyes, "Your boyfriend. I've seen him."

Karla's eyes lit up, "You have? It worked?" Ed shook his head.

"Far from that. He's a homunculus now. They don't have souls, they're not… they're not people." Karla looked sadly down at her hands.

"I guess it was for nothing then," she looked back up at Ed. "Your turn, how did you get here?"

"Um…" His face flushed red and he looked away. Karla patted his knee.

"I did it for my boyfriend, surely yours can't be worse."

"Yeah, I guess not," he sighed, "it's a really long story."

"I've got time."

"Well," he swallowed, "My mom died when I was ten. Dad left long before that, so the Rockbells took care of us. Only a few months later, Al and I started training in Alchemy with Izumi Curtis. When she let us go, we tried to bring mom back. Al…" Ed choked on the words, "Al almost died. I was able to pull his soul back from the gate and bind it to a suit of armor, but his body was gone. For four years we searched for the philosopher's stone so we could heal our bodies, but that plan backfired. A man named Scar turned Al into the philosopher's stone…" he took a shuddering breath before continuing, "I was killed and he sacrificed himself to save me. I couldn't," he shook his head as his eyes overflowed; "I couldn't let him do that. So I offered myself for his life, and now I'm here. I have no idea if I succeeded or if he ended up a damn homunculus like mom!" He pounded his fist on the arm of the chair and a choked sob escaped his throat. Teary-eyed, Karla gathered him into a hug. He'd been through too much, far too much for his age.

Finally she pulled away and looked into his tear-streaked face. "Tea?" He nodded. She stood up and walked into the kitchen. He followed, and she again noticed the uneven pattern to his steps. "Er, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you limping?" she asked as she put the kettle on the stove. Ed was taken somewhat aback.

"What? Oh yeah, that." He gave a sort of half laugh, "I was wondering when you would ask about that. Automail. I've had it since I was eleven." He pulled off his gloves to reveal one flesh hand, and one metal. "My arm and leg. It was the price I had to pay to bring Al's soul back."

Still quizzical, Karla asked, "But why are you limping?"

"Because I'm growing, and there's no one in this world who can adjust my automail. I've just been trying to wear thicker soled shoes on my left foot, but it's getting a little out of hand."

"Ah," Karla poured them both a cup, and the house was quiet while they drank.

"I think I can get back."

Karla dropped her cup onto its saucer a little harder than was probably necessary. "What?" She spluttered.

"Ever since I got here, I've been trying to get back." He glanced away quickly, "this world doesn't support alchemy, so I've been trying to use mechanical technology to reopen the gate." He grabbed the plans out of his bag, laid them out on the table, sat back down, and began explaining.

* * *

(A/N) Well, first chapter down... I hope to have more up soon, and honestly, I cannot estimate how long this fic will end up being. I just want to let you know, I did not make up Karla. Her relationship to Trisha is my own personal headcanon, but she is a legitimate character. Have fun figuring out who! ;)


	2. Chapter 2

WINRY

"Goodnight, Al," Winry whispered as she closed the door to she sleeping boy's room. Sighing, she walked into her room and threw herself onto the bed. She rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. How long had it been? A year? No, not quite. She covered her face with her hands as a sob escaped her throat. It was hopeless, it was all hopeless. She was never going to see him again. She tried to snap out of it, he would want her to be strong, wouldn't he? _You don't even know if he's alive!_ Her thoughts taunted. Her frame shook with every breath as tears streamed down her face. Every night had been like this. Every night since Al came home alone. Alone and four years younger.

At first it was easy to convince him that Ed had been lost when they first tried to transmute their mother, but Winry's age had given it away. She had decided to come with Al when he traveled to Izumi's to study. She claimed it was because she had enjoyed the thrill of being away with Ed and Al for those months. Secretly, she figured that she wanted to come because she wanted to be there when Ed came back. _IF he comes back, _her thoughts again taunted. _He will! He has to… _she buried her face in her pillow. It had been a night like this. Al had quietly slipped into her room and climbed up onto the bed with her.

"_Winry?" she had looked up at him, face streaked with tears._

"_Yes, Al?"_

"_Why are you crying?" It seemed cruel to lie to him anymore._

"_Because I miss Ed."_

"_I'm going to bring him back, Winry." _

"_I know you are."_

_Al was quiet for a minute, "Winry?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_When Ed and I transmuted Mom, you were our age. Now…" he shook his head. "You're older." He looked up at her, large innocent eyes glistening in the moonlight, "Why?"_

_She hugged him. "Al, you and Ed tried to bring Trisha back five years ago."_

"_What? But I'm eleven!" _

"_I know, you died, and Ed sacrificed himself to save you."_

"_He… transmuted me?"_

"_Yeah, but the price for your soul was the four years you two spent together traveling." She smiled then, maybe as an attempt to reassure him, maybe trying to reassure herself. _

"_I'm the reason he's gone? It was my fault?" Al's eyes welled with tears, and he buried his face in Winry's shoulder. "I'm… I'm so sorry!" he cried between sobs, "I'll bring him back for you, I promise." _

_That's where Izumi had found them the next morning. Al curled up against Winry, and she with her arms wrapped protectively around him._

Still, months and months after that night, Al was no closer to being able to open the gate. Regrettably, Winry was beginning to lose hope. What if Al couldn't do it? What if Ed was gone for good? She tried to brush these thoughts from her mind as sleep claimed her.

* * *

The sun was long up before Winry got out of bed. Stumbling, she found her clothes and put them on. Bleary-eyed, she walking into the kitchen, yawning. Izumi smiled.

"Glad you decided to join us," she lightly teased.

Winry yawned again, "Yeah, rough night." Izumi nodded, understanding in her eyes. Al bounded into the kitchen.

"Sensei! Sensei! I did it! I did it!" He grabbed her hand and puller her outside, where there was a small gasp from Izumi. They came back in, Al's eyes shining.

"Now you can have breakfast," Izumi heaped freshly scrambled eggs onto each of their plates.

"Thank you, Sensei," Winry and Al chorused, before digging in. Al finished quickly and put his plate in the sink.

"I'm going to study," he announced as he left the room. Izumi sat next to Winry, quietly sipping a cup of tea.

Winry broke the silence. "Is he close?"

"To opening the gate? I have no idea. I've only seen it once. I don't even know if you can call it into being, or if it only shows up for human transmutation." Izumi shook her head, "I'm sorry, Winry, but I just don't know."

"It's okay," Winry barely choked the words out. But of course, it wasn't. Despite Ed being an idiot, despite how oblivious he was, despite the fact that he was _gone_, despite _everything, _she still loved him.

The room remained eerily quiet as the two women sat in silence. Winry stood. "Thank you for breakfast Sensei. If you need me, I'll be in the workshop."

'The Workshop' was a small shed out behind the Curtis' house that Winry had turned into her own, personal safe haven. She would spend hours on end locked inside working. Well, experimenting was probably more accurate. She only felt truly at peace when she was working with metal, wire, and electricity. Here she had access to almost anything she wanted, and time to do whatever she would like. Her current project was building automail-like armor that would automatically adjust to fit the body. It was proving to be a more difficult task than she would have liked.

"Winry?" Al's voice startled her.

"Al! My gosh Al you scared me!" She exclaimed, whacking him lightly with a wrench. He smiled shyly.

"Sorry, but the phone is for you." Winry ran inside and grabbed the phone from Izumi.

"Hello? This is Winry."

"Winry, this is Riza Hawkeye, I believe we've met before."

"Um… yes. We have. Do you need something?"

"Actually, we have a couple men who require your skills. Can you make the trip to Centeral?"

"Yes. I mean, I don't have anything else going on and… Don't you have automail mechanics up there?"

"We do, but Havoc asked for you specifically, so that's why I'm calling."

"Okay, I'll be up as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Winry."

Winry sighed and hung up the phone. "I need to go to Central. Military emergency."

"The military wants you now?" Izumi shook her head, "I can't stop you from going, but I disapprove of those pigs." Izumi glared at nothing in particular before her face softened and she turned to Winry, "Have a safe journey, and return in one piece."

"I'll help you pack!" Al exclaimed.

* * *

The train screeched to a halt and everyone aboard scrambled to get off. Winry grabbed her bag and was shoved off the train by the crowd. She'd been to Central a couple of times, but not enough to know her way around. She shielded her eyes from the bright, noon sun and glanced around, hoping to see someone she recognized. Her face lit up when she saw Riza motioning her over. Winry pushed her way through the crowd to the lieutenant, her heavy duffel bag weighing her down.

Riza smiled, "I'm glad to see you made the trip safely." Winry smiled back.

"Thanks-" her arms gave out and the duffel bag crashed to the ground. Winry gazed down at it, both in defeat and annoyance. "This dumb bag is going to be the death of me though." She gave a half laugh as both she and Riza bent down to pick it up.

There was a loud ripping noise and a flash of pink sparkles and bare skin as Lt. Alex Armstrong swooped in and grabbed the bag. He held it in one hand, swinging it around as he flexed. "Fear not! I am here to assist you with manners and courtesy that have been passed down in the Armstrong family for generations! I will carry this bag for you!" He exclaimed, muscles bulging.

"Um… thanks," Winry stammered, giggling. Riza smiled and rolled her eyes.

The trio climbed into Riza's car, Winry and Alex sharing the back seat. There wasn't quite enough room, and Winry found herself uncomfortably smashed between Armstrong and the door. She sighed quietly and prayed the drive would be short.

Thankfully, her prayers were answered. The car pulled up outside a tall hospital. Winry jumped out and gulped down lungfuls of clean air. She also took the opportunity to stretch her sore muscles, she hadn't had the time to do so after the train ride.

She followed Riza and Armstrong (who now had a shirt on, she didn't remember when he had had time to put one on) into the hospital. The interior of the building was blindingly white, and Winry found herself blinking in an effort to adjust to the glare.

"Typically I would have let you settle in before asking you to come work, but we really did need you as soon as possible," Riza explained, leading her to one of the hospital rooms.

"It's fine," Winry spluttered as her eyes fell on the scene before her. Jean Havoc, Lt. Fuery (as hard as she tried, she couldn't remember his first name), and four others she didn't recognize were laying in hospital beds bound in seemingly ridiculous amounts of bandages. The entire room smelled of dried blood. "What happened?" Winry exclaimed, turning to Riza, who sighed.

"Mission gone wrong. Actually, several missions. Our staged uprising in the Northern Territories accidentally caused an all-out war. On top of that, with the Fuhrer dead, the military was in shambles. Everyone wanted power, and we almost had a three-sided civil war here in Central. It was not a good time to be in a seat of power…" Riza trailed off. "Of course, that's not what you asked. This squad," she gestured to the soldiers in the room, "was spying on the Northern army's headquarters when they were attacked. Engineers in the North have developed tiny alchemic bombs that latch onto human skin and then explode, essentially blowing the body apart bit by bit. It's a miracle this many made it back alive." Winry looked up Riza, but the older woman would not meet her gaze. Winry looked back down at her feet.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to help."

Riza gave a weak smile, "I know you will, thank you." Havoc, who had previously been asleep, stirred and glanced at the door.

"Winry!" He tried to sit up, wincing. Winry walked over to his bed.

"It's good to see you, Jean. So, what happened to you?" Winry said, trying to sound at least a little chipper. She really didn't want to know what had happened. Jean pulled out his right arm from under the covers. It was completely wrapped in once-white bandages from his elbow down to a hand that was entirely too small. In fact, his entire arm tapered down at an alarming rate. Havoc noticed her slight gape and chuckled quietly.

"I've only got two fingers left." He held them up and wiggled them slightly, wincing. "Two fingers, less than half a hand, and half and arm. Not to mention I'm missing a leg from mid-thigh down," he sighed quietly, "I think I got the least of it though," he admitted, glancing over to his men.

"Am I building automail for all of them?" Winry asked.

"NO, only the ones the doctors think will survive," Jean spat. Winry looked down at his bandaged hand, or, what was left of it.

"I'm, I'm going to need to look at this," she mentioned, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What? Oh, yeah, that's fine."

"We need to be leaving," Riza said, patting Winry's shoulder.

"Can you leave my bag here?" Winry asked, turning to Alex. He nodded, and set it down at the foot of Havoc's bed. "Thank you!" she called as they walked out of the room.

"We'll be back in a couple of hours," Riza said before shutting the door. Winry turned back to the task at hand.

"This might hurt a bit, but I need to see your wound," Winry warned as she began unwraveling the blood-stained bandages. Havoc gritted his teeth and clenched the side of the bed with his uninjured hand as she peeled the cloth from his exposed muscle. The sight was grim. Not much skin remained, exposing muscle and charred bone. What remained of his wrist was obviously shattered beyond repair, and the thinner of the two bones in his arm had been completely blown away. She quietly made metal notes of all that she would need to do to reconstruct the other half of his arm.

A lump rose in her throat. How many more would die? How many more would live, only to be constantly reminded of the horrors of the past? How many friends would be lost? How many children left fatherless? Motherless? Or orphaned like herself? She bit back tears and grabbed a fresh bandage. He probably needed a new one, the other one was so blood encrusted she doubted it would do any good.

With a heavy heart, she left Havoc and moved on to the next patient. She vowed she would save as many of these men as she could. No one was dying on her watch.

* * *

(A/N) Well, Chapter two went up really quick... honestly, don't expect this all the time. I understand there was some confusion regarding my mention to an elaborate headcanon. I promise, by the end of this story, you will know everything that I do. This fic is my headcanon, and it will unfold accordingly. :) Thank you for the support, be it as mild as it was. I appreciate it all, thank you, and there is more in store for this story, just you wait!


	3. Chapter 3

EDWARD

The sun rose over the hills and shed an orange dawn light on the world. Ed tiptoed across the floor in an effort not to wake his aunt. Silently, he slipped on his coat and grabbed to door handle with gloved hands. As he opened it, the unoiled hinges groaned loudly. Ed cringed at the noise. _Maybe _she shouldn't hear. _Stay asleep stay asleep There's nothing going on here! _He silently pleaded. The small house was quiet, and Ed began to think that maybe she was still sleeping. He moved to take another step out the door when a half-asleep Karla shuffled down the hall.

"Ed, is that you? What are you doing?" she yawned, rubbing one of her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"Dammit," Ed muttered, "Um, nothing. Well, there's someone I need to go meet and…" he trailed off as Karla grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the kitchen.

"You're not going anywhere until you eat something and tell me EXACTLY what's going on," she sat him down and began fussing over breakfast. Ed sighed heavily, drumming his fingers on the table in annoyance. "You're never going to leave the house with that attitude, mister."

"You're not my mom!" Ed whined.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty damn close. Now spill." She demanded, setting a cup of coffee and some scones down in front of him. He picked at them, clearly stalling for time. That is, until he put one in his mouth. The rest were gone within seconds. Karla watched, amused.

Ed met her gaze before sighing and turning away. "I'm going to go talk to Ronald Barber. His theories about molecular fusion might be the key to opening the gate from this side." Silence hung in the air. Nervously, Ed fiddled with his cup.

"Well you could have just told me," Karla sighed, exasperatedly. Ed looked down, his face flushing red.

"I know, but-"

Karla cut him off, "but you didn't want me coming. Well guess what. You're out of luck." She stood up, chair legs scraping across the floor. Grabbing a coat, she opened the door. She turned back to Ed, who was still sitting at the table, his face seemingly frozen in a state of surprise. "Well are you coming or not?"

Ed snapped out of his daze, "Yeah. I'm coming." He got to his feet and followed Karla out the door, scowling at her the entire time.

They got onto the street and Ed took the lead. "I do have one question," Karla mentioned, her breath billowing in the crisp, spring air.

"Hmm?" Ed answered, eyes fixed ahead.

"If your goal is to open the gate, why build a booth? Wouldn't you just need to summon the gate and then walk through?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how large the energy blast will be, so the booth is there to protect me and the computer," Ed explained. He looked up at the sky still Orange with dawn. "However, the entire project rests on if this 'Ronald' guy has the answers I need. If he doesn't, and this whole 'molecular fusion' idea of his turns out to be a fluke, then I won't need a booth because the entire plan will be off!" Ed only realized he had stopped walking when Karla put a hand on his shoulder. Slightly embarrassed, he trudged on.

Neither spoke for several minutes and silence enveloped them like an uncomfortable blanket. Finally, Karla broke it. "I do think it's interesting that you took on your mother's name," she ventured into the topic uneasily, but honestly, anything was better than the silence.

Thankfully, he took up her conversation and answered, "Yeah, I think that was mostly Dad's doing. I don't know if he just didn't want his name passed on or if he didn't want his kids connected to his past. Honestly I think that is more likely. Either way, Edward Elric sounds a million times better than Edward _Hohenheim." _Ed grinned playfully. Karla rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You just don't like your dad," Karla teased, shoving him. Ed sidestepped, attempting to regain his balance.

"No, no. It seriously is because Elric sounds more badass," he grinned, shoving her lightly in return. His playful grin dropped. "Dad actually said that we should take on Mom's name. It wasn't our choice. But..." mischief turned the corners of his mouth up, "since we're already on sensitive topics, what was his name?"

"Whose?"

"Your boyfriend, dummy."

"I'M OLDER THAN YOU."

"So?" Ed smirked as Karla fumed, but then gave in.

"Bradley."

Ed gaped, "That arrogant son of a bitch..." he breathed.

"What? Why?" Confusion clouded her face.

"He kept his name. Most of them didn't," Ed turned to her. "Your boyfriend became King Bradley, Fuhrer of the Military. He's married and has a 10-year-old son. He's actually the only Homunculus that ages, so, good job," Ed grinned and she scowled.

"Fuhrer? of the _military?_ I thought you said they weren't people!"

"They're not. But they look like people. Well, all of them except Envy. He looks like a demented palm tree." Ed stopped walking and looked up at the building in front of them. "We're here," he announced.

the building was decently large, supporting two stories and medieval gargoyles on the roof (which looked _really _out of place against the red brick). There were very few windows and overall, the building resembled a cross between a mental hospital and a prison. Hesitantly, Ed knocked on the door.

A dog began barking furiously inside and scratching at the door. Sounds of a scuffle came from inside and a man in his late thirties opened the door. He had short, medium-brown hair, round glasses, and a face that showed obvious signs of stress.

Ed stepped back in surprise. "Tucker?" he breathed.

"Are you looking for someone? There's no Tuckers here. Just me, little old Ronald. And Sara, of course." A girl no older than five peeked out from behind Ronald's legs. She stared up at Ed and Karla with large, dark eyes.

"Um, I was looking for you, actually," Ed stammered, still shaken by seeing the spitting image of Nina staring at him. "I've heard about your work and I was wondering if you could tell me more."

Ronald seemed surprised by Ed's curiosity, but quickly ushered them in. Ed glanced down to see Ronald holding the collar of a large, white dog. "I don't think I caught your names," Ronald mentioned, closing the door behind them.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Edward and this is my-" he glanced at Karla. She looked _way_ too young to be his aunt, "-cousin, Karla," He finished. Ronald smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Edward." he turned and began walking down the hallway. "If you come this way, I'll show you some of my research." Nin- _Sara, _he corrected himself, followed her dad, Karla, and Ed down the hall.

"Daddy, you said you were going to play with me today," Sara said, lightly tugging at her father's pant leg.

He bent down, "I can't right now, how about you take Chandler out back and play with him?"

"Okay, Daddy," Sara grabbed the dog's collar and walked away sadly.

Ronald ushered them into a large, dark room. A massive metal tank sat in the middle. Ronald grinned, "Here we are!"

"Uh... I don't get it," Ed stated. Karla internally groaned.

"Well," Ronald began, "this is where the magic happens," he tapped the metal tank. "I superheat the inside of this and the pressure causes the hydrogen to fuse together and BOOM. Massive explosion." He grinned at the skeptical Ed.

"Have you ever succeeded?" Ed asked.

Ronald's face fell, "Well... um... no. I don't think the government is going to support me much longer, so I plan to succeed very soon."

Horrible memories crept into Ed's mind. Tucker's voice echoed almost the exact phrase Ronald had just spoken. Nina's chimera voice asked him to play. Her blood splattered the wall of the dark alley way. He tried to shake the memories away, "I'm very sorry, Mr. Baker. Can you promise me one thing though?"

Shock flashed across Ronald's face before fading into uneasiness, "Depends. What is it?" he asked.

"Never drag your daughter into your work. She's worth more than that. Can you promise me never to put this," Ed gestured to the mechanical equipment in the room, "above her life?"

"Of course! Why would you think I wouldn't?" Ronald inquired.

"I knew someone very much like you. He put his work above his daughter and because of it, she was killed." A lump rose in Ed's throat and he desperately fought it back down.

"I'm so sorry..." Ronald was quiet. Slowly, he moved over to the computer that took up nearly half the room. "Here, let me show you how this works."

* * *

Ed massaged his temples as Karla closed the door to the house behind them. He groaned, "too much knowledge...!"

"But was it useful?" Karla asked, lightly nudging him forward.

Ed sighed heavily, "Yes, it was. I might have to redesign my gate-summoning machine. The fusion power will help, but there might have to be bloodshed to actually summon the gate."

Karla looked away, "Hasn't there been enough?" Ed stared at his feet. There had been too much blood, too much playing with people's lives. They walked in silence the rest of the way.

When they arrived at Karla's small house Ed grabbed his plans and sat at the table, brooding. Karla looked at him, and sighed.

"Ed, what I said back there, I'm sorry. I... I know it's going to take a lot to get back, and I appreciate that you're letting me accompany you," she confessed, never making eye contact.

He looked up and stared at her so intensely she was forced to meet his gaze. "It's not your fault for thinking that. You have every right to hate toying with life as much as you want, hell, I probably hate it worse than you. You don't have to apologize, but there is no other way." Karla shied away and forced a half smile.

"Look at this. You consoling me, doesn't that seem backwards?" She mused. Ed returned her smile with a heavy heart. He hated this, but as much as he hated it, he knew he needed it. Much to his surprise, Karla sat next to him. "So, explain the changes," she prompted.

"Well, I'll have to add a tank for the fusion to take place, I'm thinking about adding it to the outside, just for design convenience. I'm also going to have to rewrite the program for the computer, and I have a theory for how we can fake a human transmutation."

"Should I be worried?"

"Yeah."

Karla sighed, "What is this theory of yours?"

"Well, theoretically, if you pump a corpse full of electricity, it will reanimate."

"That's...pleasant," Karla grimaced. "But where do you expect to find a corpse someone will just _give_ you?"

"Cadavers"

"Oh great."

Ed smiled mischievously, "See? I've got this all planned out."

"That you have. I just hope it doesn't get you into trouble."

"It probably will, but I'll either be on the other side of the gate or dead by the time anyone finds out what I've done."

"You're making this sound really positive."

"I know."

Karla ruffled his soft, blond hair. "But you're not too bad, for a pipsqueak."

Immediately, Ed's temper flared. "Who are you calling so small you couldn't distinguish him from an ant if you tried?!" Ed screeched. Karla clasped her hand over her mouth to quell the laugh that was bubbling from her throat.

"That's not... what I said!" She gave up trying to hold it back and _laughed._ Ed glowered at her.

"I think I might hate you."

"You know you don't," she smiled, her eyes shining with tears of laughter.

Ed rolled his eyes, never letting the glare drop from his face. She grinned at him, willing it to be contagious. It worked. When he realized a smile was playing at the corners of his mouth, he cursed. "Damn you, Karla! _Why?!_" she laughed, more of a giggle than a laugh, really.

"See? I told you that you liked me," She smirked at him.

"_Fine_. But its not going to stay that way unless you help me."

"I was already planning on it."

"Good," Ed smiled, and Karla returned it.


	4. Chapter 4

WINRY

The slamming of the door shocked Winry out of her concentrative coma. She looked up to see who caused the noise and saw a middle-aged man in scrubs standing above her, scowling.

"Are you authorized to be in here?"

"Um, yes. Or, I should be. I'm the automail mechanic for this team," she stammered, setting down the mechanical jaw she was fiddling with.

"An automail mechanic? How old are you? Fourteen?" he scoffed.

"Sixteen, actually. And I've been doing this since I was five years old, so," Winry noticed her slowly raising voice, and flushed, "so I have perfect authorization to be operating on these men."

Still obviously skeptical, the doctor nodded. "I'm going to have to check the records-"

"I asked for her, specifically. Just so you know," Havoc cut in, smirking slightly. The doctor stiffened.

"Well then."

"Oh! I do have a question," Winry piped in, remembering Havoc's wrist. The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Lieutenant Havoc's wrist has been smashed beyond all repair, as I'm sure you've seen. Um, I built a replacement but it's just the bones, so I will need help reattaching the muscles…" She trailed off.

"I'm still not sure if I'm willing to let you near an operating table."

Winry snapped. "Okay listen here. You know Edward Elric? Of course you do. He had a mechanical arm _and leg_ which he's had since he was ten. You know who built those AND ATTATCHED THEM? You're looking at her. _When I was TEN. _So if you think I'm not qualified you can just ask E-" _d and he'll tell you_ echoed in her mind as her rant came to a screeching halt and she realized he had been dead for a year.

"So, you have experience. I'll have to consult my superiors about this, but you will have to have _professional _supervision."

"Fine," Winry breathed as she sat back against the wall. "But where it's not necessary, don't interfere. These are delicate operations."

Their glaring contest was broken when the door creaked open and Riza Hawkeye stepped in. Confusion flashed across her face. "Dr. Baltar? Winry? What's going on?"

"He won't let me do my job!"

"She's trying to operate on _my_ patients!"

Riza groaned quietly, "I'm sorry for not informing you of Miss Rockbell's involvement, but she _is_ reliable. I promise." Riza turned her attention to Winry, "I have your room ready if you're at a good break point."

Winry looked at the scattered bits of metal and screws surrounding her and several mechanical body parts. "Um…" she stood up, brushing her hands on her pants, "I could probably take a break." Riza beamed.

"Great!" Riza walked out the door and Winry followed, throwing a glare over her shoulder to Doctor Baltar.

"Can we schedule a couple of surgeries on or way out?" Winry asked, matching her pace with the Lieutenant.

"Of course. Are you ready for some already?"

"Yes. There's a couple of the men who are presumed terminal, and I think I can save them if I operate within the next couple of hours," Winry explained.

Riza nodded, "I see. Well, I'll be sure to have you back for them as soon as possible." She walked up to the front desk. The attendant looked up. "Where can I schedule surgeries?" Riza asked.

"Right here is fine. I can communicate it to some of the doctors…" she trailed off as she fumbled around for a clipboard. "Who and when?" she asked, pencil hovering.

"Lieutenants Farley and Currey from the Havoc squad," Winry answered, "Is there an opening in two hours?"

"Yes there is, who will be operating?"

"I will."

The attendant glanced up sharply, "You?"

"I'm their automail mechanic. I _am_ licensed."

"Okay," the attendant jotted down some notes, "Thank you, I'll have the operating room ready for you."

Winry smiled, "Thank you." She and Riza exited the building and climbed into Riza's car.

"Is it okay if we make one stop before going to your room?" Riza asked, turning the car on.

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"The prison."

Winry was stunned into silence. "The… _prison_?" she finally choked out.

Riza gave a half smile, "Yes. A very good friend is being held there, and I wanted to visit him."

"Oh…" Winry mouthed. She could see the sadness in the older woman's eyes. Silently, she wondered who this 'good friend' could be.

A few minutes later, the car pulled up in front of what could only be the Central Prison. The two girls climbed out of the car and walked into the foreboding building.

The inside was cheerily lit, and had a warm, almost home-like atmosphere. Winry supposed the carpeted floor probably added to that. A tall, ginger man sat at a desk in the back of the room. He looked up when they entered. His face lit up when his eyes landed on Riza.

"Colonel Hawkeye!" he exclaimed, standing up to meet them. "I see you've brought a guest," he beamed, firmly shaking Winry's hand.

"Yes, this is Winry Rockbell," Riza answered.

"Rockbell? Isn't that the name of those doctors…? I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. It's nice to meet you, Winry."

"No, it's okay. They were my parents," Winry smiled weakly, trying to return the man's enthusiastic grin.

"I am so sorry," he consoled.

"Major Corondel," Riza stated, willing him to focus.

"Yes, sorry Colonel. The usual visit?" Riza nodded, following the Major as he unlocked a door behind his desk. "Right through there, but you know that. Can I trust you not to break him out?"

Riza smiled, "Always." Major Corondel smiled in return and handed her a key. She took it and walked through the newly unlocked door. Winry followed her into the dark, dank hallway.

"Colonel?" Winry asked, "When did that happen?"

Riza chuckled, "I forgot to say, didn't I? After the new military government was set in place there was an opening, so I was promoted. And here you were still thinking I was a lowly lieutenant." She cast a sideways smile at Winry.

"Yeah…" Winry giggled, "Congrats though."

"Thanks," Riza smiled. The hallway lightened and on either side of her, Winry saw people behind bars, men and women, some old, some young. The sight churned her stomach. She stared intently at her feet, hoping the inmates wouldn't notice her; however, she could feel their eyes hot on the back of her neck. Her face flushed. She felt Riza's hand on her shoulder, and looked up.

The Colonel began unlocking a door on their left. Winry looked into the cell. The inmate was asleep, clearly he knew Riza well enough that she was comfortable waking him. Carefully, Winry studied him. His back was to her, but she could see a mop of messy, straight, black hair on his head. He had broad shoulders, and was clearly well-muscled and strong. Riza opened the door and walked in. She approached the sleeping man and sat down on the bench (prison beds weren't anything more than that) next to him. Winry hesitantly tiptoed into the cell and closed the door behind her. She watched as Riza smiled softly and began stroking the man's hair. He stirred and rolled onto his back. Winry stifled a gasp as Roy Mustang smiled up at the new Colonel. He propped himself up on one elbow and hooked his other hand behind her head, pulling her into a firm kiss.

Winry looked around the cell awkwardly. She'd always suspected something was going on between those two, but these circumstances were just _odd. _Why the hell was Colonel Mustang in _prison?_ She looked back at the two colonels. Roy had laid back down with his arms wrapped around Riza, who was laying comfortably on his chest with her face buried in his neck. Each had their eyes closed serenely.

Roy's eyes cracked open and he smiled at Winry's gawk. "You didn't tell me you brought anyone else," he mumbled into Riza's hair.

"I guess I forgot," she replied, her words muffled.

"It's good to see you, Winry," he smiled. One of his hands crept up Riza's back and dislodged the clip from her long, blonde hair. He began playing with it, and she smiled against his neck.

"It's good to see you too, Colonel," Winry replied, bowing slightly.

Roy chuckled, "Not Colonel anymore."

"Why?" The word came out so fast Winry didn't have time to consider that it was inappropriate to ask that.

"Because I killed that shitty excuse for a Fuhrer," Roy grinned mischievously.

"You used to respect him as a leader," Riza mentioned.

"That was before I found out he was manipulating the military for the purpose of creating a philosopher's stone," he paused, "And killed 7,000 men," he added.

"I'll give you that," Riza mumbled.

"But… I thought King Bradley died in a house fire…" Winry questioned, confused.

"Yes, which is really suspicious when the _Flame Alchemist. _is found stumbling out of the burning house," Roy countered. Winry nodded. "After I healed, I went in for questioning. The fact that I was guilty surfaced, as did Bradley's manipulation of the military. That's probably the only reason I'm still alive." He sighed, "When people started fighting for power, my case was set aside. They haven't brought it back up yet, so I've been staying here. Nonetheless, I was stripped of my title and position."

"I'm sorry," Winry mumbled.

"It's okay. This has been relaxing. No paperwork, no stress, and I got to see her promoted into my spot." Roy kissed Riza's forehead.

"You're better at it than me, though."

"Not a chance." Roy closed his eyes and exhaled softly. Riza snuggled closer into his chest and kicked her feet up onto the bench. Winry smiled at the two of them before sneaking out of the cell and back down the hall.

Major Corondel was sitting at his desk sorting out some papers when Winry walked in. He smiled, "Those two lovebirds a little much for you?" he joked.

Winry laughed lightly, "I just thought they needed some time alone," she responded.

"That's probably for the best. There's no telling how much time they have left."

"What?"

"The continuation of Roy Mustang's trial picks up in three days."

* * *

(A/N) Yay for chapters three and four! Also yay for Royai canons! Also, just on the topic of Pride being Karla's boyfriend, his son is ten, leaving five years since his transmutation for him to meet his wife and get married. Also, I would put him in his late thirties or early forties, making him about 25-ish at the time of death. If we assume Karla is 20, then their ages line up perfectly as well. Just saying that I did think that out. As for Roy's little predicament, that's going to be a fun one to play out. ;)


	5. Chapter 5

KARLA, EDWARD

"Karlaaaaaa! Get over here, and GIVE IT BACK!" Ed yelled, chasing Karla around her small yard.

"Never!" She panted, dodging his lunge for her and the metal strip she held.

"Dammit Karla, I need that!"

She giggled, "I know you do!"

"Well then give it to me!"

"No!"

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because you've been working nonstop for the past _three days_, and as your legal guardian, I think you need a break." Karla crossed her arms.

"Legal guardian? Since when?" Ed scoffed. Karla rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Well. Maybe not _legal,_ but I still worry about you!"

"Good for you," Ed muttered, again lunging for Karla's captured item. She evaded him easily, whacking him lightly as she did so.

"Take. A. Break!" She demanded, trying futily to pull a serious face. Ed groaned, throwing his head back in frustration.

"FIIIIIIIIIINE." Ed glowered at her beaming face as if it was taunting him. Karla grabbed his shoulders, steered him onto the small patio right outside the house, and sat him down on the bench swing.

"Stay," she commanded.

"I'm not a dog!"

"Could've fooled me."

Ed scowled at her as she walked in the back door of the house. She returned moments later carrying two small glasses of a light caramel-coloured liquid. She handed one to Ed and sat down next to him.

"Besides, it's too nice of a day to waste away," she mentioned, putting the glass to her lips.

"Is this whiskey?"

"Yeah. Watered down though. You're a little young to be getting drunk," she looked at him, "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, it's fine," Ed answered, lightly sipping the drink. He sighed and leaned back against the back of the bench. "I guess it_ is_ a nice day," He mentioned, gazing up at the sky. It was touched with a few, light clouds framed by a brilliant blue space that extended far into the horizon. It was a blue he had seen before. A blue that had been lit with laughter, a blue that had shone with anger, a blue that had quivered with tears, and a blue that he had been too afraid to embrace. Silently, he vowed that were he to ever make it back, he would fix everything he had messed up. Every lost opportunity, every time he had been cold, he would make up for it. _I promise_, he mouthed.

Karla noticed his faraway expression. She knew there was so much he wasn't telling her. There was so much pain in his eyes. A pain that tensed his muscles, a pain that kept him up at night, a pain that could not be forgotten, even through a lifetime. She'd only been with him for less than a week, but that was enough. His lantern had lit his room at odd hours of the night, and a quiet sobbing could be heard. She'd never wanted to intrude, how could she? But now, looking at his eyes which seemed to see a whole different world, she wanted to comfort him. However, now more than ever, she couldn't. Sighing quietly, she downed the rest of her beverage and closed her eyes. She hoped the alcohol would relax him, he needed it. If he wouldn't take a break on his own, she would force it on him.

She cracked an eyelid to look at him. His eyes were closed, and his face was as serene as she had ever seen it. The trail of a single tear shone in the brilliant afternoon sun. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. Maybe there was still hope. He was almost done building his contraption. All that was left was computer programing. Maybe she could finally go home! A thought struck her and she nearly choked on her tongue. _There was nothing left for her._ Her family was dead, she'd been gone for _fifteen years_, everyone who had known her would have taken her for dead. She had nothing left. _Except alchemy,_ she supposed. Maybe she could join the military, like Ed had. It would be better than trying to build a life from nothing.

The two sat in peaceful silence as the swing gently rocked in the fresh, spring breeze. Ed's breathing slowed to the steady pace of sleep and his head rested on Karla's shoulder. Gently, she laid him down on her lap and softly stroked his hair as she undid his tight braid. _Mission accomplished_, she thought as she too, dozed off.

…

Karla's hand still rested on the back of Ed's neck when he woke. His head was comfortably cradled in her lap and his feet were tucked behind him on the swing. Her gentle breathing told him that she was still asleep.

Slowly, so as not to disturb his aunt, he sat up, placing her hand back in her lap. The sky was beginning to darken with evening and his stomach growled hungrily. He stood up, careful not to rock the swing, and snuck into the house.

Her kitchen cupboards were caught in that awkward stage between empty and full. There wasn't much food, but there was enough, he supposed. For the last year, Karla had managed to make a meager living as a tutor for children who either couldn't attend a public or private school, or were struggling with the school they were in. She'd been away many of the days he'd been here, and she rarely wanted to talk about what happened at "work." But her job supported his stomach, so he never pressed.

Ed busied himself fixing a dinner for the two of them. He had never been adept at cooking, despite his love of food. _Hopefully she'll forgive me,_ he thought as he stirred the bubbling pot of stew. Subconsciously he added his bitchy attitude to the list of things he wished she would forgive him for. If only he wasn't so bloody awkward with people. It's just, talking to them was so difficult. _Maybe when we're home, and all this is behind us, I can finally talk to her. I can finally apologize, and things can finally be right._ He smiled. He was so close. So very close to making _everything _right again.

The door shot open, "ED?" relief flooded Karla's face, "Oh. Okay you're just inside. I just woke up and you weren't there and I got worried," Karla trailed off, her face flushing red as embarrassment set in. She looked down at her feet.

"Dammit Karla I'm not _that_ irresponsible!" Ed teased, "Now get over here and help me before I burn down your kitchen."

Karla smiled sheepishly and walked over to the stove. He handed her the wooden spoon he'd been using. Gingerly, she stirred the contents of the pot and brought up a spoonful of the thick broth to her lips. Ed watched intently as she sipped the broth, willing it to be good.

"That's not half bad. Nice job, Ed," she smiled. He sighed in relief.

"Oh good, I was worried," he grinned, grabbing the spoon from her and tasting the stew while she pulled two ceramic bowls down from the cupboard. "What do you mean 'not half bad'? This crap is delicious!" He exclaimed, a bit a broth leaking from his mouth, which he quickly wiped away. Giggling, Karla poured stew into each of the two bowls. She handed one to Ed, and after taking the stew off the heat, they sat down to eat.

"So, you're close, aren't you?"

"Yep. Probably could've started programming tomorrow if _someone _hadn't delayed my work," he teased.

"Hey. You needed a nap. Desperately," she retorted.

"Suuure," Ed rolled his eyes. Karla's smirk faded to a soft smile as _thank you,_ caught on Ed's tongue. He was grateful, he had needed a break, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he cleared his throat. "Well, even with the delay, we'll probably be up and running in two days, tops."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Karla exclaimed before spooning another bite of stew into her mouth. Ed smiled, it really was wonderful.

…

Ed flipped open his silver pocket watch. _2:48._ He closed it again before his eyes could flit to see the inscription on the inside of the lid. Karla should be home soon. _Perfect timing,_ he thought, smiling. Everything was in order. Built, programmed, and triple-checked. It should work perfectly. He'd even gotten the cadaver for the fake human-transmutation. He could finally go home! He could finally see Al again, _and Winry,_ his thoughts murmured. His heart fluttered at the notion, but he quieted it.

"ED!" Karla's voice echoed from inside the house. Upon hearing her, he turned and bolted in through the back door, nearly crashing into her in the process. "Whoa there, what's the hurry?" she asked, catching him by his shoulders.

"I'm done." His eyes shone with excitement as he grabbed her hand and dragged her out into the back yard. Karla gasped quietly.

"Ed, it's… it's…"

"It's our ride home," he finished.

"It's beautiful," she breathed before gathering him into a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered, tears pricking at her eyes.

"Hey. No lovey-dovey crap. Okay?" he insisted, and yet, he didn't pull out of her embrace. Finally, she let go of him and wiped the wetness from her eyes. "You ready to go home?" he asked. She nodded, a grin spreading across her tear-streaked face. "Then let's go," Ed whispered, his voice full of energy.

He dragged a blanket-enclosed corpse out into the center of the yard and began attaching wires to various places on the body. Karla grimaced. When Ed finished fiddling with the corpse he walked over and guided her to the small opaque booth.

"On second thought, I probably should have done that before you got here," he muttered, indicating with a nod toward the lifeless body.

"Yeah, that would have been nice," she replied. Ed opened the doors opposite a large, black tank. There was barely enough room for the two of them as well as the over-large computer.

Immediately, Ed started pushing buttons. Karla stared out the one window at her home, her yard, and the body that would be her salvation.

"Ready," Ed called, whirring from one keyboard to the next. "Steady!" he said, slightly louder, his voice tinged with anxiety and excitement.

"_Go,"_ Karla breathed as Ed slammed a lever and shouted GO. There was a lurch followed by a blinding flash of light as the corpse was illuminated by a white energy. It spasmed on the ground before jolting to its feet and stumbling towards the contraption, wires still hanging off its body.

"_Shit!_ It's overloading!" Ed cursed, frantically typing on multiple keypads. The booth lurched again as another blinding flash of energy surged down the wires, causing the zombie-like figure's flesh to begin melting off its electrified bones. Karla screamed and covered her eyes. Another unexpected jolt threw her and Ed against the wall. "Dammit!" Ed exclaimed. An earth-shattering blast sounded around them before a deathly silence enveloped the booth. "Dammit," Ed breathed, smacking the wall with his fist.

Karla again looked out the small window, "Ed!" she gasped, pointing, "It's the gate!" Ed pushed past her to see none other than the very image that had haunted his dreams for the last five years. The Gate loomed over their tiny machine, dark and menacing.

"We did it," Ed breathed. Then louder, "We did it. We did it!" he grabbed one of the two double-doors, unlocked it, and was shoving it open when _it_ started.

"ED, NO!" Karla gasped, grabbing the door shut. The opaque walls began to shine with a silvery-blue light as the booth lurched into motion.

"What the hell?" Ed shouted to nothing in particular.

"I don't know, the gate just vanished and everything turned blue-ish and now we're moving and I have no idea what's going on!" Karla choked out, death gripping the door closed as the booth tossed and turned. "What are we going to do?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Determination replaced the fear in Ed's eyes. "Hold on for dear life. I'm going to try and land this son of a bitch." He stated, flipping around to the many flashing screens and blinking lights. Karla nodded and swallowed, holding the door closed with one hand, and the computer with the other to ground herself. Ed frantically typed in programs, edited them, tried commands, anything. It seemed nothing was working. "DAMMIT." He yelled, slamming his fist on the keyboard in frustration. He contraption lurched and Karla's hold on the computer slipped as she crashed into the unlocked door. It swung open under her weight and she fell out, still clutching the door with every ounce of strength she could find. She screamed as her fingers slipped off the small, metal handle.

Ed was already kneeling at the edge of the floor, clinging to the other sturdily locked door and reaching for her with his other arm, but it was too late. She tumbled away into the vast, swirling abyss.

"Karla!" Ed screamed frantically, tears welling in his eyes. "KARLA!"

* * *

(A/N) K. first things first, all of you science nerds, I apologize for the science in this chapter, and I'm not claiming any sense of realism to any of it. Just wanted to get that out there, I'm done. So basically this is the chapter where crap gets real, and the story actually begins. mwahaha, etc, etc. enjoy.


	6. Chapter 6

KARLA

The sun glared hot against her closed eyes. She could hear someone talking, but it seemed to come from far away. Her ears were ringing and her whole body throbbed with a red-hot pain. Tentatively, she cracked her eyes open. A young man was kneeling over her. He had dark hair and eyes framed by square glasses. His mouth was moving._ Was he the one talking? What was he saying? Where was she? What had happened? _She tried to focus on the man's words through the ringing in her ears.

"Miss! Miss are you okay? Can you hear me?" His voice was frantic, worried. She wondered if she knew him. No_, _she didn't. She felt pressure on her hand as the man gently squeezed it. "Can you hear me?" he asked again, quieter this time.

She tried to respond, but her voice wasn't working. All she managed to choke out of her dry throat was a dull moan. The man looked relieved.

"Help is on the way, I promise," he reassured, softly squeezing her hand again. She winced, everywhere hurt. She couldn't remember anything. The sun was too bright, too hot. Gently, the man tucked a hand behind her head and propped her up slightly. She gasped as a tendril of searing pain shot down her back. "I am so sorry," the man professed. "You need to drink this," he insisted, holding a canteen to her lips. The cool liquid inside washed over her tongue and down her throat. Hungrily she gulped it down before erupting into a coughing fit. Her whole body shook with every lurch of her diaphragm and her muscles screamed at the movement.

Still gently caressing her head, the man tried to comfort her. He stroked her hair and wiped the tears from her face. "It's going to be okay," he murmured. Her fearful eyes questioned him. _How can you know?_ He smiled and leaned down next to her ear. "Trust me, I'm a doctor," he whispered before kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"A… doctor?" she choked out. He held a finger to her lips.

"Shh, don't talk. Just try and relax." _Relax? How?_ How do you relax when there's a nagging at your mind telling you that you've forgotten something _very _important? How do you relax when your body is screaming in pain? He must have read her mind. "Try and clear your head. Don't think, and if you have to, think about something like the sky. Maybe a sunset. Can you see that in your mind's eye?" She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it. She was so tired…

…

She woke up in what could only be a hospital. Her limbs still ached, but the pulsing in her head was gone. She looked around and tried to push herself up into a sitting position. That was a bad idea. Searing flames of pain ate away at her wrists as she collapsed. She held her hands up in front of her face. They were both tightly bandaged from the palm of her hands down to nearly her elbows. Thin, but sturdy, sticks kept her wrists from moving. _Had she broken them? How?_

The door swung open and the man she had seen before walked in. His shoulder-length hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, and he was wearing a white coat. He smiled when he saw her. "You woke up," He remarked, walking over to the side of her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," she answered, surprised to hear her own, functional voice.

He nodded, "That's normal. You broke both your wrists, tore your right MCL, sprained your back, and you have an impressive set of bruises covering, well, all of you," he stated. She groaned softly and he chuckled. "You're quite puzzling too. No one's ever seen you before. Are you from the inner walls?"

"What?"

"Maybe I thrust that on you a bit quickly. Clearly we've never met, and seeing as you've been asleep or delusional for the past week, we haven't been properly introduced. Hello, I'm Doctor Grisha Jaeger." He smiled again. It lit up his eyes and was clearly contagious.

She realized she was required to respond, so she racked her seemingly empty brain, trying to find a name. "I'm Karla," she finally realized. "Karla Elric."

"That's a very pretty name," Grisha smiled. "Elric… I don't think I've heard that name before…" he became very thoughtful and zoned out.

Her name still rung in her ears. _Karla Elric. Elric…_ She felt like screaming. There was something she was supposed to remember, something that had to do with _Elric_. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to remember something, _anything. _Her mind's eye saw a dark, swirling abyss. Someone was screaming her name. She was falling, reaching for him. But who? _Elric_. The other Elric, she was sure of it. A face flashed across her memory. Long, blond hair framed a scowling expression. Golden eyes stared up at her incredulously.

"Ed," she gasped, her head shooting off the pillow as memories flooded her mind. She winced as Grisha grabbed her and gently laid her back down.

"Ed?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Er, yes. He's my nephew. He… I…" Karla groaned, "It's complicated."

"I'm listening,"

"You know, you're really sweet, but if I told you, you would think I'm crazy," Karla warned. Grisha pulled up a stool next to her bed and sat down.

"I'm listening,"

"Damn, you are stubborn," Karla mentioned, smiling. He smiled in return before silently egging her on. She sighed, "I don't even know where to start. Ed is my older sister Trisha's son. When he was little I made a stupid choice and I was thrust into another world. I lived there for a year, even got a job, and then Ed showed up. Except he was sixteen years old! Apparently our two world's timelines move at different paces, I don't really get it. _Anywho, _he had this idea of how we could get back home so we tried it, and I don't know what happened but his machine malfunctioned and I fell out and showed up here."

Grisha was quiet, "That's… an interesting tale."

"It's true."

"I don't doubt that." He shook his head. "You're an interesting girl, Karla."

"Same goes for you. A doctor at your age? How did that happen?"

Grisha's face turned pink. "Well, my folks were doctors. So I kind of grew up in the career. It really doesn't take long to make it through medical school when you start at the age of fifteen," he explained.

"So how old are you now?"

"Twenty-four."

Karla grinned, "Oh good. I was beginning to worry that I was attracted to a forty-year-old creeper who was addicted to face lifts."

"Are you… Are you _flirting _with me?"

"Noooo, why would I do that?" Karla smirked, rolling her eyes playfully.

"You _are_ flirting with me!"

"In my defense, you kissed me first!" Karla pointed out. Grisha's ears turned a brilliant shade of red.

"Yeah… Well… you were going into shock…"

"Like that's any excuse," Karla teased.

"Okay… maybe you've got me there. But you need to sleep or else you'll never get better."

"Fiiine," Karla muttered as Dr. Grisha Jaeger added an anesthetic to the clear liquid that was being piped into her bloodstream. Slowly, she dozed off.

…

"Well, as of today, you are free to go," Dr. Jaeger announced.

"Oh sweet mercy. I was thinking about breaking myself out, but we both know how that would have ended," Karla teased, sitting up on the hospital bed she had spent far too much time in. She motioned for Grisha to come over and help her get the knee brace on. Her stiff and bandaged wrists were still not cooperating like she wanted them to. Linking her arm over his shoulder and grabbing her firmly around the waist, he helped her to her feet.

"Well, seeing as you don't exactly have anywhere to go, would you like to stay with me?" Grisha asked, assisting her as she discarded her hospital gown and exchanged it for her only dress.

"Yeah, I'd love to," Karla answered, wincing as she tried to button up the bodice of the dress.

"Here, let me," Grisha offered, moving her hands out of the way, and proceeding to fasten the remaining buttons.

"Thank you," Karla smiled, "For everything."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Grisha replied, returning her soft smile. Gently he reached behind her neck and pulled her head toward his. Their lips met softly, gently. The kiss was over far too soon.

…

The rain pounded the stone streets with a ferocity that hadn't been seen in years. Two young pairs of feet ran through the puddles, splashing water over the already soaking roads. The couple laughed carelessly, lunging for each other and dodging the other's attacks. Karla was too slow. Grisha caught her by the wrist and pulled her rain-soaked body against his.

"What was this news you had for me?" Karla asked after kissing him firmly. He smiled triumphantly, hooking his hands around the small of her back.

"I got my license to be a traveling family doctor."

Karla beamed up into his smiling eyes, "That's wonderful!"

"I was wondering if you would come with me. It would be fun. Traveling into the inner walls, meeting all sorts of people, Grisha Jaeger and Karla Elric, doctoring duo," he grinned. "You know, I never really liked your last name."

"What's wrong with Elric? I think it sounds nice!"

"It doesn't suit you. Maybe you should change it."

"To what?" Karla scoffed.

"I was thinking Jaeger," he smirked, pressing his mouth down on hers. Startled, she pushed his face back.

"Did you, did you just propose to me?!"

"And if I did?"

"Well… Well… Well I accept."

"So you'll come with me?" he asked, his eyes full of hope.

"Of course," she whispered, pulling him back into the unfinished kiss.

…

Sweat poured down her face as another contraction seized the muscles in her abdomen. _How much longer would this last? _She cried out in pain.

"It's okay, we're almost there, it'll be fine," her husband reassured her. She wasn't so sure. "Okay, push _now._" Grisha commanded. _Push? Push how? _She screamed again, it felt like someone was tearing her apart. "We can see the head. Karla, you're doing great," His eyes shone with happiness. Yet another wave of pain racked her small frame. Her breaths were rapid and shallow. Still, she pushed with every ounce of meager strength left in her body. "You've got it sweetie, just once more!" She allowed herself a moment of rest before giving a 'final push.'

She glanced down by her feet to see her husband gathering a small, goo-covered human into his arms. He smiled up at her, "It's a boy." She smiled in return before collapsing back onto the small pillow as her abdomen seized in yet another contraction. Grisha handed the baby off to a nearby nurse, and she scampered away to clean the child. "It's just the afterbirth, it'll be out in a minute," Grisha promised, squeezing Karla's hand. She nodded as a drop of sweat trickled into her eye. "Push one more time," he instructed. She took in a shuddering breath and complied.

A few minutes later the nurse returned with a little bundle. She handed the sleeping baby to Karla who smiled shamelessly into his peaceful face. "He's so perfect," she whispered, brushing her nose against his.

"He looks just like you," Grisha smiled, kissing Karla's head. "Good job."

She looked up at him, "So Eren it is then?"

"Yes. Eren Jaeger, welcome to the family."

…

"And you're sure you'll be safe? And you'll do _exactly_ what your dad tells you? And you've got your scarf? It's going to be cold," Karla fussed over her nine-year-old son.

"Yes mom, all of those things. And I've got the knife Pop gave me!" H announced proudly, holding up a fairly large dagger.

Karla laughed lightly, "Just don't pull that on any of the Ackermans, okay? And be nice to Mikasa." Karla stood up. "Take care of him. You know I don't like this," She told her husband, worry prominent on her face.

He gathered her into a hug, "It's just a routine check. We'll be home before dark."

"You'd better be," she muttered as he let her go and led Eren out the door and down the street. She watched them until she couldn't see them anymore. Turning back into the house, a thought struck her. _She'd been here for nearly thirteen years. Has it really been that long?_ She puzzled. She'd done what she never thought would be possible. She'd started a life. Where she had supposed her only option was to join the military, she'd broken her own expectations and made a normal life for herself in the Shinganshina District. Yes, it was the most vulnerable against titans (she'd only ever heard of them. However, her belief in their existence was strongly enforced by the death toll in the Recon Corps), but it was the best she'd known. _Where had Ed landed?_ She wondered. If he _had_ landed. A pang of anxiety erupted in her chest. Hopefully he was alive. Anywhichway, she couldn't do anything to help him. So, sighing, she busied herself, trying to keep her mind off her family.

Hours passed and the sun set, clothing the world in darkness. Her boys still hadn't returned. She lit a lantern and sat on the porch, anxiously fiddling with her hands. Dread filled her chest as her cynical imagination thought up every possible way something could have gone wrong. The Ackermans _did_ live in the middle of nowhere. There were thieves, murderers, perverts… she groaned and buried her face in her hands. _They weren't coming back, were they?_

The pattering of small feet running up the stairs shocked her out of her trance. Suddenly Eren was there, and her threw his arms around her neck. Tears in her eyes, she hugged him tightly. "I was so worried," she breathed. He pushed her away, his eyes shining.

"Mom! Mom, guess what!" he exclaimed, nearly bouncing out of his skin.

She laughed, "What? And where is your scarf?"

"I've got a sister now!"

"What?" Karla stood up and looked down the road to where she could see her husband holding a young, dark-haired girl. Karla ran down the road. "What happened?" She asked, frantically. The girl picked her head up off Grisha's shoulder She blinked, bleary-eyed.

Grisha sighed softly, "Karla, this is Mikasa Ackerman. She's going to be staying with us." Mikasa looked at Karla with large, dark, quivering eyes.

Karla smiled softly, "Welcome to the family, Mikasa." Mikasa tried to smile in return, but much of her face was still covered in a thick, red scarf. _Eren's scarf_, Karla realized. Suddenly, Eren was at her side.

"Mikasa! I'll show you around!" he offered, holding out his hand. Mikasa nodded, and Grisha set her down. Eren grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the house. Karla turned back to her husband.

"Why is Mikasa here? What happened?" she asked, fear tinging her voice. Grisha's head turned as he looked away.

"The Ackermans were murdered. They were already gone by the time I got there. Mikasa had been kidnapped. I called for help, told Eren to stay put, but he slipped away. By the time I found him, all three of the murderers were dead and Mikasa was safe."

Karla was shocked, "Are you telling me that Eren-"

"Killed two men? Yes. I have reason to believe Mikasa got the third one," Grisha explained, still avoiding his wife's gaze. Karla was speechless. How could her little boy have _killed two men?_ She turned to bolt back into the house and scold Eren for being so reckless with his life, but Grisha grabbed her wrist. "I've already gone after him enough," he mentioned softly.

"Yes, but I'm his _mother!"_ Karl argued. Grisha pulled her into a hug as she broke down.

"At least wait until tomorrow, he's had a rough day."

…

"We're back," Eren announced, walking through the front door with Mikasa. Karla looked up from the sink where she was doing dishes.

"Welcome home," she smiled. Eren took both his and Mikasa's 'packs' of wood and emptied them into a bin by the table. Karla walked over. "Wow Eren. I'm surprised you gathered this much firewood today."

"Yeah…" Eren muttered looking away as his ears blushed bright red. Karla leaned down and pinched the blush. "What was that for?" Eren whined, rubbing his ear.

"Your ears were red. You were lying," Karla smiled, "Mikasa helped you, didn't she?" Eren looked away and sat down at the table between his father and his adopted sister (who _still_ hadn't taken off that scarf). Karla went back to the dishes.

"Dad, are you going out for work?" Eren asked, noticing his father packing various medical tools into a black bag.

"Yeah. I have to go see someone in the inner walls. I'll be back in two or three days," Grisha replied. Eren seemed satisfied with the answer he got and began eating. All was quiet.

"Eren wants to join the Recon Corps," Mikasa mentioned quietly. Karla spun around, aghast.

"Mikasa, you traitor!" Eren yelled, slamming his bowl back down onto the table.

Karla was at his side in an instant, "Eren, what are you thinking? Do you know how many people die outside those walls?!"

"I do!"

"Clearly you don't!"

Grisha cut into their argument, "Eren." Both Eren and Karla turned to look at him. "Why do you want to go outside?" he asked.

"I want to see and understand the world outside. I don't want to die within these walls without knowing what's out there!" Eren began. He paused for a second before continuing, "On top of that, if no one takes on their jobs, then all those who've lost their lives would have died in vain!" He exclaimed his eyes lit with a fire that Karla had so rarely seen.

"I see," Grisha paused and an eerie silence fell over the small family. He stood and headed for the door. "My ship's here. I must get going."

Karla stood up and ran after him, "Wait, dear. Help me convince Eren!" she pleaded.

"Karla, nothing can suppress a man's curiosity." He turned to his son who had stood up and followed him partway to the door. "Eren. After I've returned, I'll show you the basement I've been keeping you away from," he promised, pulling a golden key out from under his coat. It glinted in the light.

"For real?" Eren asked, his eyes lighting up with excitement. Grisha pushed the key back into his coat and turned out the door. "Have a safe trip!" Eren called after him as he walked down the cobblestone street.

"I won't allow it," Karla insisted. "You can't do something stupid like join the Recon Corps."

"Stupid?!" Eren yelled, "People who are content living like livestock are more stupid!" he turned around and ran down an alley.

"Eren!" Karla called after him, but it was too late. Mikasa walked up beside her. Karla whipped around and grabbed Mikasa by the shoulders. "Mikasa, he's a reckless boy. When trouble comes, be sure to help each other out."

Mikasa nodded, "Okay." Karla let go of her, and the young girl ran after Eren.

She turned back into the house. How hypocritical was she that only a few years ago she herself would have thrown her life to the military, but now, forbid her son from doing that very thing? But then again, times had changed. This was not the same military she was planning to join. On top of that, she was a new person now. _Fourteen years can do a lot to change a woman_, she mused. She busied herself cleaning the kitchen.

Suddenly she heard screaming. She ran to the door and looked out. She could see the top of the wall from where she was standing, and what she saw grounded her. A giant head shrouded in steam looked over the wall. It had no skin covering its bare muscle, and its hand had crushed the stone wall under it. _A titan,_ Karla gasped. She'd never heard of one being this tall.

She was stuck in her daze of awe when all hell broke loose. There was a huge smashing sound coming from the gate. She only saw it for a second, but what she saw horrified her. Shards of rock as well as boulders flew in all directions from the gate. One was coming for her. She realized it too late, and suddenly everything was black.

Pain. That was the first thing she noticed when she regained consciousness. Her legs had been smashed beyond all repair, she was sure of that. She tried to move, but a ceiling beam resting across her shoulders hindered her attempted movement. There was nothing she could do. _I'm going to die here,_ she thought. The notion frightened her. Thirty-six was too young of an age to die.

"Mom!" That had to be Eren yelling for her. She could hear them now, the pattering of two pairs of small feet running towards her. "Mom!" Eren yelled again as he and Mikasa reached her. Karla opened her eyes. "Mikasa, grab that side. We need to move this pillar!" Eren commanded, hooking his fingers under one side of the beam. Mikasa complied, and together they tried to lift it. Eren suddenly looked up. His eyes widened in fear. "Hurry Mikasa!" he pleaded. It had to be titans. They were getting in, weren't they?

"I know," Mikasa replied, putting all of her strength into lifting the pillar.

"The titans are coming in. Eren, take Mikasa and run! Hurry!" Karla pleaded, Eren wasn't listening. The wood cut into his hands and blood poured from the gashes as he continued to attempt to lift it.

"I want to run too! Hurry up and get out!" he demanded, holding the beam just high enough that she could worm her way out.

The pounding of a titan's feet from behind her sparked the realization that she wasn't going to live through this day. "My legs have been crushed by the debris. I can't run even if I get out," she looked Eren in the eye, "Do you understand?"

Tears pooled in his eyes, "I'll carry you and run!" he yelled, his voice cracking.

"Why can't you just listen to what I say for once? Please listen to me! Just one last time!" She pleaded. Mikasa's eyes clouded over with sadness and her lower lip threatened to quiver. "Mikasa!" Karla pleaded, hoping that maybe Mikasa, who was always so sensible, would be able to keep Eren safe and get away from there.

"No… No!" Mikasa cried. She'd lost one mother already, she wasn't about to lose a second one.

"At this rate, all three of us will…" Karla couldn't bring herself to think of her children being eaten. A whirring sound made her glace up. Hannes-san swung in with 3D maneuver gear. He ran over to them. "Hannes!" Karla exclaimed, "Take the kids and run!"

He crouched down by her head, "Don't take me lightly, Karla. I will kill the titan and save all three of you," he promised before standing up and running in the direction of the titan.

"Wait! You can't fight it!" Karla yelled after him. His pounding feet faded as he approached the titan. Not thirty seconds later he was running back. He scooped up Eren and threw him over his shoulder.

Eren fought and squirmed against the soldier's grip. "Hey! Hannes! What the hell are you doing?!" he screamed.

"Thank you," Karla breathed as Hannes grabbed Mikasa and took off.

"Mom is still trapped in there!" Eren yelled, still trying to get free.

"Eren! Mikasa! Live on!" Karla called after her children, who were disappearing fast from her line of sight. Tears spilled over her cheeks. "Don't leave me…" The words came out before she could stop them. She clapped a hand over her mouth and sobbed. _Maybe the titan would pass over her,_ she prayed.

The pounding of large feet stopped. Huge hands dug into the pile of rubble above her, before finally reaching her broken body and pulling it out. Desperately she fought, pounding her fists against its tough flesh and squirming as much as she could. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Eren. He was still screaming, but blood was pounding so loudly in her ears she couldn't hear what he was saying.

Her captor brought her up to his hideous smiling face. _What a horrible way to die_. His other hand reached up and grabbed her torso. She tried to scream, but he yanked her sideways, and everything went black.

* * *

(A/N) Sorry for the delay in posting, I went camping and this chapter was also really long so it took me a while to write etc. etc... Okay but honestly how many of you guessed that Karla was Eren's mum? And for those of you who have read the manga, I apologize if Grisha is out of character. I'm only about halfway through the manga, so I haven't really met him outside of the scene right at the beginning.


	7. Chapter 7

WINRY

Winry collapsed onto a plush couch in the entry, shock, dread, and disbelief creating a whirlwind of anxiety in her mind. Roy had _killed_ someone! There was no way he could escape without severe punishment, or even death. _Three days._ She wondered how he could stand it. How could Riza bear it?! Winry groaned, burying her face in her hands. She really didn't need any more stress in her life; and this wasn't even her problem! The door creaked open and Riza walked into the room, her hair once again neatly clipped to the back of her head.

Col. Hawkeye smiled at the young girl. "Ready to go?" she asked, after returning the small silver key to Major Corondel. Winry nodded and followed Riza out the door.

A thought struck the younger girl. "Col. Hawkeye, how many ranks did you jump?" Winry asked, realizing the vast difference between _Lieutenant_ and _Colonel._

Riza smiled to herself. "I didn't actually skip any ranks. Right after the new military government was set in place, all of the unsettlement needed to be sorted out. There of course were people who were not willing to follow their new leader. Those people that were deemed trustworthy were of high value, and moved up in rank very quickly. I was one of those people, and seeing as my superiors kept getting weeded out, I was promoted _a lot._ I think I'll probably just stay a Colonel though," Riza explained. Winry nodded in understanding. It _did_ make sense. Silently she wondered if she dared bring up Roy's trial. She wanted to learn everything she could about it, but was it really her place to know? Curiosity ate away at her stomach. Riza must have noticed. "Is there something on your mind?" The older woman inquired.

Winry forced herself out of her daze. "Um, no. not really. " She gave Riza her best don't-worry-about-me-everything's-fine smile, but she could tell the Colonel was still skeptical.

"If you say so…" She shrugged, "Well, sorry for the delay. Let's go get you settled in, and then we can go back to the hospital." Riza smiled as both she and Winry climbed into the car and drove away.

…

"I apologize in advance, because this is going to be really painful," Winry warned as she prepared to join Lt. Farley's nerves to the various metal body parts she had constructed. He gave a slight nod and set his jaw (or, what was left of it. A good portion of his face had been completely destroyed). "I'm going to start with the worst one," Winry stated, reaching the Lieutenant's half-metal face. She was confident in her ability to fashion everything on his face, except for his missing eye. She had long studied the mechanics of the human eye, and she figured she could probably build and attach a functional one. However, the anxiety of attaching the optic nerve almost directly to the brain was killing her. One wrong move and he could be dead. She took in a deep breath and connected the nerves. The Lieutenant cried out in agony as tears welled in his one good eye. His toes clenched and the muscles in his legs seized against the pain. Winry turned back to the doctors who were in the room 'supervising her.' "If you want to do any skin grafting, I suggest getting ready for that now," she mentioned, moving to hover over her patient's chest.

She sighed. This part here was the real reason he was presumed terminal. He'd lost his entire left arm, shoulder and much of his ribcage. This left his left lung, as well as his heart, exposed. It was a frakking miracle he'd made it off the battlefield in the first place. She'd managed to re-build his ribcage under the hard metal skin, but there was still the possibility that an infection had already set in. "Ready?" she asked. Lt. Farley nodded sharply. _3…2…1._ She connected the nerves. The Lieutenant lurched as the entire left half of his torso was engulfed in searing flames of pain. Winry scurried to the other side of the hospital bed. "3, 2, 1," she warned as she connected the nerves for the metal forearm. Farley yelped in pain as sweat poured down his face and neck. The muscles in his legs were so tight, Winry suspected they would cramp soon.

The Lieutenant's pain was clearly off-setting the doctors in the room. "Can we… sedate him?" one of the younger doctors asked, glancing at the man writing on the operating table.

Winry shook her head, "The nerve connection won't work as well unless he's completely undrugged." The doctor nodded skeptically. Farley had stopped writhing, but he was still whimpering. Winry smiled and gently ruffled his bright red hair. "I'll be back in just a minute. The pain will go away soon, but don't try to move yet. I need to go check on Lt. Currey." She looked up at the head doctor in the operating room, "Go ahead with the skin grafting operation on his face. Afterward, move him to a recovery room and make sure he doesn't move any of his automail yet." After getting a nod of acknowledgment from the doctor, she walked out of the room.

Winry glanced down the hallway and groaned. _Where exactly_ were _the recovery rooms?_ A young female nurse was walking down the hallway away from her. Winry ran towards the nurse. "um, excuse me," she started, lightly tapping the nurse on the shoulder.

"Yes?" she asked, turning around.

"Can you tell me where the recovery rooms are?" Winry asked, her slight social anxiety making her trip over the words. The nurse smiled.

"I'm actually headed there, so just follow me." She turned back around and began walking down the hall again. Winry let out a quiet sigh of relief and followed. "I haven't seen you around here before, are you new?" the nurse asked.

"No, not really. I'm the automail mechanic for the Havoc squad," Winry explained.

The nurse chuckled, "Aren't you a bit young to be an automail mechanic?"

"Will people just stop doubting me already?!" Winry muttered angrily. The nurse laughed again.

"We're here. Name plates are by the doors," the nurse mentioned as she continued down the hall.

"Thank you!" Winry called after her. She turned to the door closest to her. "Currey… Currey…" She muttered, reading each of the names next to the doors. "Currey!" She opened the door and walked in. The poor lieutenant was almost completely metal now. Rehabilitation was not going to be short, or easy.

…

Winry collapsed against the door. She buried her face in her knees and groaned softly. "Long day?" came a familiar voice. Winry looked up into the hospital room. Havoc was the only one awake, and he sat in his bed, fiddling with a pencil in his good hand.

"Uhg, yes. Can I rant?" Winry asked.

Havoc shrugged, "The floor is yours."

"I operated on Farley and Currey against orders and currently they're both still alive, but I don't think Farley's going to make it, but who knows, he might. I've never lost anyone before and I sure as hell don't want to start now. On top of that it's been a year, and Al is nowhere close to summoning the gate. I hate myself a little for it, but I'm beginning to think that he'll never be able to do it. He'll never get the gate open, and Ed will just stay dead forever. And to top that ALL off, apparently Colo- _Roy_ Mustang killed the Fuhrer and is going back on trial in just a few days and he's probably going to die!" Winry groaned again as her head fell back in her lap. "The anxiety is killing me!" She moaned, her words muffled by the fabric of her skirt.

"hmm. I'm sorry. But, can you explain one thing for me?"

Winry looked up in surprise, "Sure, what?"

"Ed's not dead?"

"Oh…yeah…um…" Winry sighed quietly. "Technically I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but we have reason to believe that he's not actually dead. You see, this girl Rose brought Al and Wrath home and-"

"Wait, wasn't Wrath a homunculus?"

"Yes. Apparently they saw the whole thing. Anywho, Rose said that Ed gave himself up to save Al. When he did, 'The Gate' appeared and he was pulled through, right before Al had taken full form. Also, this was not the first time Rose had seen Ed pushed through the gate. The first time, he came back through. The second time, not so much. That's why we think that he could still be alive…" Winry trailed off.

Havoc was quiet for a moment, "Don't give up hope just yet. Alphonse is a good kid. He'll pull through." He smiled reassuringly at the girl. She tried to smile back, but her heart was still in her throat. She looked at the four remaining men in the room. Was she ready to operate on any of them? _Close… but not yet. _She had absolutely no desire to get up and walk, so she crawled over to her miniature work station in the corner of the room and began assessing what she had built so far.

The door opened and a man entered. Winry glanced up. He wasn't exactly tall, but he was by no means short. He had long, blond hair died behind his head. He cleared his throat.

Havoc looked up, "Can I help you, Private?"

"Er, yes. Brigadier General Rosalyn wants you to testify in Mustang's trial on Thursday."

Havoc sighed, "Do I really have a choice?"

"Knowing her, I'm afraid not, Captain."

"Tell her I'll be there, but I wasn't in on the Fuhrer's assassination plan, so I doubt I'll be much help."

"I actually think you'll be speaking about the staged uprising, seeing as you were disguised as the former Colonel for a time, sir."

"Ah, I see. You're dismissed, Private," Havoc commanded. The blond man saluted and walked back out of the room. "FRAK!" Havoc cursed, pounding the bed with his good hand. "Frak…" he moaned, covering his face with that same hand.

"What is it?" Winry asked, alarmed.

"Roy organized the staged uprising. You know the one that caused a whole frakking war! If they bring _that_ into the charges, then the Colonel will be facing _two _charges of treason. He's not going to make it, there's no way he can. Oh Gods we're so frakked," Havoc moaned. Winry looked down at her hands.

_Why? _Why did misfortune seem to follow her everywhere? First her parents, then Ed and Al, then Ed and Al _again, _and now this? She didn't know Roy exceptionally well, but she knew him enough to know he didn't deserve to die. Dread-filled silence hung in about them like a plague. Winry's anxiety was getting so bad her hands began to shake with fear. She folded them in her lap. The last remaining sane portion of her brain realized that the blond private had called Havoc 'Captain' as opposed to 'Lieutenant.' "Jean," Winry began.

"Hmm?"

"Were you promoted?"

Havoc gave a half-hearted laugh, "You noticed. While you were out the Fuhrer stopped by and promoted me to Captain. I always wondered how Riza managed it, but I guess I've figured it out. All you have to do is get half of your men frakking killed and they'll give you a frakking medal for it!" Havoc spat. Winry looked back down.

"Well, congratulations anyhow," She whispered. Havoc nodded and sat back.

A middle aged woman poked her head in the door, "Winry?" The blonde picked her head up in acknowledgement. "There's a phone for you," The woman finished. Winry nodded and followed her out the door. In the entry of the building, the receptionist handed Winry a phone.

"Hello?"

"Winry? This is Izumi."

"Sensei? What is it?"

"The Gate."

Winry gasped, "Did Al do it? Did he summon it?"

"No, he was inside reading and I was gardening. It just _appeared_ in my yard. Then there was all this blue smoke that engulfed it and it was gone, but _it showed up._"

Winry was speechless, "Do you… do you think it's Ed?"

"Trying to reach us from the other side? That's what Al thinks, but I'm not so sure."

Both ends of the line were quiet. "Thank you, Sensei," Winry said before handing the phone back to the receptionist.

* * *

(A/N) ah yes, so much nonsensical drama. I'm sorry for all the filler business with Winry, I promise there _is_ something in store for her, it's just coming about slowly. also, I realize I used the word 'anxiety' _a lot_ and I'm sorry for that. Oh well, hopefully my writing will get better, have a nice day, thanks for reading, etc. etc.


	8. Chapter 8

EDWARD

Balancing his weight against the closed door, Ed fumbled for the door swinging in the abyss. He pulled it closed and locked it, shutting out any hope of retrieving his aunt. Not that there was any hope to begin with, she'd already been swallowed by the nothingness. Hastily wiping tears from his eyes, Ed turned back to the accursed computer. He could feel the machine slowing down; he just needed to bring it to a stop, preferably on the ground.

Finally, with a whirring of the engine-of-sorts, his little booth landed. Well, more accurately it crashed. It hit the ground with such ferocity that the bottom shattered. Shards of glass ricocheted off the walls, slicing both into Ed's skin and the computer. Bruised and bleeding, Ed grabbed the stabilization controls. If he didn't do something soon, the whole damn thing would explode. The frame creaked around him. It had likely been cracked in the landing. He needed to work fast, the fusion tank was smoking something awful, and some parts of the computer itself had started steaming.

After trying command after command in a futile attempt to shut down the machine, Ed finally gave up. He turned and bolted out and away from the booth. He was still all too close when it exploded. The shock wave sent him to his knees as shards of metal flew in every direction. "Dammit…" he muttered as he pushed himself to his feet. Where was he? He glanced around. He had landed in some sort of town. He stood in the center of a dirty cobblestone street. The buildings around him seemed almost primitive in style, most were made of wood. The conglomeration of browns formed from his surroundings gave the entire situation a very poor and dreary atmosphere. But something was definitely off. Something was missing. Noise. This place was eerily quiet. Where were all the people? Where were the merchants trying to sell their over-priced products to the people of the city? Where were the screaming children playing chase as they dodged through the legs of their annoyed parents? What had happened to cause this? No doubt about it, this place gave him the creeps. He was immensely glad he had grabbed his red coat earlier that morning as he pulled it closer around himself to fend off the haunted chill of the place. Glancing around nervously, he began limping down the street. Did Karla land here? He would have called her name, but the oppressive silence kept his mouth shut. A bird squawked overhead. "Well, at least this place isn't completely devoid of life," Ed muttered to himself. There was something else though. Something other than the eerie quiet. The air buzzed around him. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

As he passed a cross street, a small breeze brought a horrid stench to his attention. Curiosity overpowered logic, and he followed the smell. He wished he hadn't. The sight that greeted him was burned into his mind and haunted him for the rest of his life. A heap of rotting humanity spilled across the street. Decaying bodies intertwined with dismembered, blood-soaked limbs. He couldn't dream of counting the bodies, there were too many. A few large crows hopped from body to body picking at their stinking flesh. Ed turned and ran away from the sight. He doubled over as his lunch was violently forced out of his stomach. Still shaking, he stumbled forward again before collapsing against the side of a house. This was wrong. This was so wrong. What could have done this? Was Karla here when this happened?! No. Oh _hell no. _He wouldn't believe it. Karla had to be alive. He'd seen her not even ten minutes ago. She couldn't be dead. Not yet.

The ground was vibrating slightly. No, was it the house? The vibrations pulsed in regular intervals. They weren't strong… Ed shakily got to his feet. His metal leg rattled as the vibrations became steadily stronger. What the hell was causing it? He moved to glance around the side of the house. A giant, naked, human-like thing was lumbering toward him. It had to be at least seven meters tall, and it was grinning. As it moved closer, Ed realized that no, it wasn't grinning. It just didn't have skin covering its teeth. The ground shook with each step it took. Ed pressed himself up against the wall of the house. Maybe it hadn't seen him. He silently prayed that it would pass over him and not look down. Its footsteps drew closer and closer. Abruptly they stopped. Ed forced his trembling, reluctant head to look up. The thing was over him, looking down at him. It opened its mound almost hungrily and a giant meaty tongue lolled out. He wanted to run. Oh gosh did he want to. But his feet were rooted to their spot. He couldn't move. It was like a nightmare. No, it was a nightmare. It had to be. Nothing like this could happen in real life, right?

He was jolted out of his train of thought by the pressing danger of reality. The creature was reaching for him. If he didn't move now, he was done for. Years of instinct took command. He spun on his heel, clapping his hands together as he did so. This was pointless. He knew he couldn't do alchemy any more. He couldn't stop it now though, inertia had taken over. His hands buzzed with the unusual energy of the air as they crashed into the side of the house. A wave of electricity ran out from his hands, encompassing the small, wooden building. The structure morphed, growing rapidly taller and sharpening. The tip of the house sliced into the neck of the giant, severing its head. Ed ducked as the gargantuan head came crashing down next to him. Its body crumpled and began steaming heavily. He'd beaten it. _Using alchemy!_ He supposed that the buzzing in the air was responsible for that. Were there so many souls floating around that The Gate couldn't pull them all through?

He allowed himself a moment to breathe. This day could not get any worse, or any weirder. He sighed and began meandering away. Movement in the corner of his eye made him stop short. Slowly he turned around. The steam surrounding the body of the thing he'd just killed was thick, but through it he saw something moving. The body stood, white smoke pouring from its neck. It wasn't dead? "Oh, hell no," Ed breathed before turning and bolting away from the creature. Maybe he could find shelter? Would it even follow him? It didn't exactly have a head… even so soon after he had started running, Ed was breathing heavily. He hadn't run much since his legs became uneven, and he was sorely out of shape. Ducking into the space between two houses, Ed allowed himself a small breather. He looked back. The steam at the top of the creature's head was thinning. Ed stifled a gasp as the giant threw its newly-grown head back and yowled. Regeneration? Was that even possible?

He was trembling. Was he really that shaken by this? Then again, how could he not be? He groaned and wiped his hands over his face. They came away wet. Startled, he looked down. His white gloves were stained a dark, sticky red. He took the glove off his left hand and felt his forehead. Surely enough, there was a decently sized gash stretching from the center of his face down to nearly his ear. The only reasonable explanation was that he had been cut when he first crash landed. Groaning softly, he pressed his already blood-soaked glove to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

The ground began trembling for a second time. It was coming for him again. "Dammit," Ed cursed, as he tried to squeeze further into the space between the two buildings. Could it smell him? A shadow blocked the sun. Ed looked up. The creature's giant eye was looking down between the buildings directly at him. "I AM NOT DYING TODAY!" he yelled as he clapped his hands and transmuted the building. The giant once again lost its head. Ed coughed as steam surrounded him and the body. This time he didn't hesitate to turn and run as far away as possible. He didn't look back.

….

He stumbled out of the town, muscles screaming. Scared of what he might see, Ed rolled up his left pant leg. His automail hadn't been properly repaired in nearly a year, and due to the fact that this leg was shorter, it had been coming down harder on the ground, which didn't help the situation. His leg showed the wear. The main plating was cracked, and he suspected the inner workings were in a like state. This wasn't good. He would need to take the entire thing apart in order to fix it, he would also need to find replacement parts… he groaned. It seemed that nothing was going his way. Maybe if he alchemically glued everything back together it would hold until he could find people. Unless they'd all been eaten by whatever that thing was.

He clapped his hands and put them to his leg. He could feel it shift and snap back into place. He winced as his nerves pinched. Glancing over his shoulder, he could still see the twenty-foot giant lumbering towards him. Damn, it was fast. He never wanted to see it try and run. He looked away from the abandoned town and was met with an expansive amount of what once was farmland. It looked to have been unused for maybe five or six years. Which direction could he go? Would it really matter? He sighed quietly and began running in a south-easternly direction.

He was probably going to die here. And soon. There was no way he could keep running from that thing forever. Especially if there were more of them. No. he wouldn't die. If he could find Karla they could use alchemy to get back to their world. Back home. Would it kill them? Surprisingly, the thought didn't startle him. The little alchemy he'd already done had exhausted him. It was a miracle that he was still moving (of course, that could also be due to adrenaline). Doing that major of an alchemic feat wouldn't be in any way easy.

In his trance, Ed failed to notice a rock on the ground, and kicked as he ran. His knees gave out and he tumbled to the ground. Blood from his forehead leaked into his eye. He rolled over to look behind him. The creature was close, practically on top of him. He wasn't going to die. He couldn't die. He hadn't found Karla yet. He struggled to his feet, legs shaking. His vision was blurry and spinning. "Dammit," Ed cursed. If he passed out now he was a dead man. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. The shadow from the creature's enormous head passed over him. He began running again. It was too close to him, he could never maintain a distance this way. If he died here, no one would know. No one would find his body. No one would mourn his death.

He looked up. There was something ahead. Something… it looked tall. As he neared it, he realized it was a wall. A wall! Walls mean mankind, safety, or at least some kind of security. He stumbled, but caught his balance. He couldn't stop now, he was close. To what? He didn't know. The wall could have been a false hope, a false dream. But right now, that was enough.

The creature's shadow never left him. It was always right behind him. It never did start running. Walking was enough to allow it to keep up with Ed's short, imbalanced stride. Soon the wall was looming over him. It just grew taller and taller as he neared it, so once he reached the bottom he had to crane his neck to see the top. He put his hands on the wall. Could he make a door? The energy in the air coursed through his fingers. Somehow, it told him that the wall was extraordinarily thick. He wasn't surprised, but making a door was out of the question. He just needed to make a hole in it large enough to run through. He tried to recall the chemical composition of granite. Was there a gas he could make out of these elements? A liquid? The creature was reaching for him. If he didn't think quickly…

The answer came. He clapped his hands and pushed them to the wall. He stumbled forward, barely evading the giant's grasp. He ran through the hole in the wall, his feet sticking to the gelatinous yellow liquid on the ground. When he reached the other side he took no time in spinning around and changing the wall back to normal. His vision swam and he collapsed against the wall.

….

"Should we move him?"

"What do we do? I've never seen him before."

"What do you think he did to the wall?"

"Shh! He's waking up!"

Ed groaned quietly and opened his eyes. A small hoard of people was hovering over him. They all looked to be a mixture of worried and confused. "What happened?"

"You passed out after you turned yellow goo into the wall!" a little boy answered.

"I passed out. I don't blame myself," Ed muttered. He began to move his hand toward his face and suddenly was immeasurably grateful that he'd dropped the glove to his real hand and not the one covering his automail. Taking his flesh hand, he gingerly felt the gash on his forehead. "Is it still bleeding?" he asked.

"Yes, we sent Dalia after bandages. She should be back shortly," a young woman said, glancing over her shoulder. "We should have a doctor look you over," She said, turning back to Ed.

He nodded, "Okay, I'm fine with that." That same woman outstretched her hand. He took it and she aided him in standing up. Once up, his legs almost gave out. She grabbed him around the waist and linked his arm (thankfully it was his left arm) over her shoulders. He smiled at her. "Thanks, I don't think I know your name."

She smiled in return, "My name is Tasha. And yours?"

"Edward."

"Edward, you're a mystery."

"Maybe so."

"Marki, find Dalia. Tell her he woke up and I'm taking him to Doctor Mayes." A blonde girl nodded and ran off. "The rest of you, shoo!" Tasha waved her hand and the remaining crowd, which dispersed. She began guiding Ed forward. "You're limping, is something wrong?"

"No, one of my legs is just a bit shorter. Nothing to worry about," Ed consoled. "If I ask a strange question, will you promise not to judge?"

"No promises, but I'll try not to."

"Where are we?"

"Inside Wall Rose, in the far North Western district."

"What are those giant human-like things outside the wall?"

"Titans. Dean says he saw you with one on your tail."

"The little boy?"

"Yeah. He's the only one who saw the whole thing. Says he saw the wall melt into a yellow goo, then you ran through as a titan was trying to grab you. Then you magically sealed the wall again."

Ed chuckled, "Yeah that's about right."

"I can't decide if you're being sarcastic or not. Turn here," Tasha said, nudging him toward a small hut. A middle-aged man sat on the porch. "Doctor Mayes!" she called. He looked up and ran down to them.

"Tasha! Who's this?"

"Edward. He came through the wall, and he's in an awful state. Can you help him?"

Doctor Mayes nodded and motioned them inside. "What exactly were you doing outside the wall, boy?" he asked.

"Looking for someone," Ed answered. It was true.

"From the Recon Corps? Son, if they don't come back, they're gone. " the old doctor sat Ed down on a wooden chair and began examining his wounds.

"The what? Oh never mind. Not that. A friend. I lost a friend, her name is Karla Elric. Do you know her?"

"I'm afraid not. I'll ask around though," Dr. Mayes promised as he wrapped a crisp white bandage around Ed's head. "Take off your coat, I need to see where these cuts come through." Delicately, Ed removed his old, red coat to reveal his very English style of dressing. "How many layers are you wearing? You don't mind if I cut those off you? They're so blood encrusted I don't think you could get them off on your own anyway," he said, reaching for a pair of scissors.

"Actually, I'd rather you didn't-" Ed began, but the doctor wasn't listening. He bent the small blond boy forward and cut down the center of his back. The cloth peeled away from his bloody skin, revealing his metal shoulder.

"What is this?" he asked, peeling the cloth away to reveal Ed's automail arm (which was in horrible disrepair, however, still functional). "You're… metal!"

* * *

(A/N) and the real story begins! I know this chapter is up a little late, please forgive me. writing was slow. also, my sister who is doing the preliminary reading for this is crap at giving feedback, so reviews are welcome!


	9. Chapter 9

(A/N) I am so, so, so deeply sorry for the delay in the posting of this chapter. I stared school recently and I'm taking lots of really hard classes and I've been really busy and... you'll forgive me, right? But along those same lines, I don't think I'll be getting chapters up at two-week intervals like I've been doing. I will try my best to post regularly... Also thanks for all the support! You guys are swell!

* * *

EREN

Everyone says that extraordinary things happen on ordinary days. It is possible that this was true. In any case, it was all a matter of perspective. It had been an ordinary day that the Colossal Titan first broke through the wall. However, in that same sense, it had been an extraordinary day that his mother died and he vowed revenge, which had kick-started a chain of events so great it would be near impossible to image how the world would be now if he hadn't. It had been an ordinary day when he asked his father to allow him to accompany him to the Ackerman's house, but because his father had allowed it, it became an extraordinary day on which he met Mikasa. It was made more extraordinary by the fact that he killed two men at the young age of nine to save her. It had been an ordinary, routine cleaning of the walls when the Colossal Titan had appeared for a second time. This had created the extraordinary circumstances in which he had first become a Titan. After that, there hadn't been many ordinary days.

Until just recently.

The entire Recon Corps had been on a "break" of sorts after the capture of Annie, the Female Titan. Erwin had been working with Levi to rebuild the squad that would look after Eren. Most everyone was relaxing in the castle fortress in an attempt to recover from the intensity of the past few days. The new recruits were set to work tidying up. Again. Even though they were considered full members since they'd survived a trip outside the walls. (The older members kept saying that it didn't count because it had lasted less than a day).

In any sense, it had been nice. Eren and his friends had let their guards drop. They'd laughed more, relaxed more, and genuinely talked more than they had since… it felt like forever. Their hearts were heavy with the memory of lost friends, but their spirits were light because they had to be. Connie and Sasha had even vowed to make Corporal "Grumpy Pants" Rivaille smile. So far… they were failing.

"He never smiles. It's hopeless!" Sasha moaned one night as the younger members of the Survey Corps sat down to dinner.

"He smiles when he's cleaning. Maybe that's what we need to do. Crap all over a room and get him new cleaning supplies," Connie suggested, smirking as he shoved a roll into his mouth.

"Go ahead and do that, but don't expect me to join you," Jean scoffed.

"Oh lighten up, horse-face," Eren teased, poking Jean with his fork.

"Horse face! That's a good one!" Connie laughed. Even Mikasa, who tried so hard to hide away all and any emotion, cracked a smile. Jean tried to laugh it off.

"Sure, whatever. At least I'm not spreading crazy rumors about a half-metal, magic kid from another world," Jean pointedly glared at Christa, a playful glint to his eye.

She attempted to control her giggling long enough to become defensive. "He's real! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"Wait, who is this?" Reiner asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Just a stupid rumor."

"_I said he's real."_

"This isn't clearing anything up."

"I don't know if it's a rumor or not, but this is essentially what the story is," Armin piped up, throwing an annoyed glance at Jean and Christa, who blushed. "Basically, about a week ago just north of the Karanese District, a little boy saw the wall "melt" and someone ran through. The newcomer rebuilt the wall with a clap of his hands before collapsing. Supposedly he's been roaming the cities magically fixing the broken items of the residents in exchange for information. Some people say he's looking for someone, others say he's trying to learn as much as he can about us so he can more easily either kill us off or subjugate us. Also, most people believe he's partly metal. The most common metal rumor is that his entire right half is silver," Armin finished.

"I've seen him! I swear I have!" Christa exclaimed before anyone else could say anything.

"That's a pretty ridiculous tale," Reiner said, "Do you think it's true?"

"They say that behind every rumor there's a grain of truth," Bertolt said quietly.

"So, if we're assuming that there is some truth behind this story, what would it be?" Reiner asked.

"Maybe he's a titan shifter?" Ymir suggested.

"Doesn't that seem a bit far-fetched for titan shifter? Besides, if he was, wouldn't he want to stay below the radar?" Armin pointed out.

"Well maybe the person he's looking for needs to know that he's looking for them, so that's why he's putting himself out there," Christa said.

"Who is he looking for? Does anybody know?" Eren asked, only mildly interested in the topic at hand.

"The name varies quite a bit, but it's something like Carrie Elric or Carlie Elrod or something like that." Armin said, his face scrunching as eh fought to remember.

"I heard Karla Elrod," Christa piped in.

"Basically the name varies and no one's ever heard of her, so no one really bothers," Armin finished.

"Huh," Reiner sat back and began munching on a roll. Everyone was quiet.

"Of course," Christa's face was thoughtful and she seemed to be oblivious to everyone in the room, "It could have been Karla Elric, I couldn't hear very well."

That name caught Eren off guard. He spit out the drink in his mouth and slammed his cup on the table in surprise. "Karla Elric? Are you sure?" He practically shouted.

"Whoa there, Eren. What makes you so interested all of the sudden?"

Eren turned to glare at Jean's smug face. "Karla Elric was my mother's maiden name. If he's looking for her then…" Then he must be from wherever she came from.

When he was little, she told him magnificent tales of another land where one thing could turn into another with a clap of your hands if you were skilled enough. She always said she was from that land, and one day a boy from there would show up to get her and take her back home. As he got older, he heard less and less of the other world, and slowly came to believe that it was all a fairy tale his mother created.

Until now.

"Dude, he knew your mom? That's so weird," Connie gaped.

"Christa, Armin, do either of you know his name?" Eren demanded.

"Edward, I think…" Armin said.

"Yep. Edward," Christa confirmed.

"And you're sure about this?" Eren insisted.

"Geez Eren, I didn't know it was this important to you," Connie said, waving his hands in front of his face as if to show surrender.

"Yeah, what is your problem?" Jean asked, smirking.

Eren was thoroughly annoyed. "I don't remember very well, but when I was little, my mom told me stories about another world where people could do magic of sorts. She said she was from there and one day my cousin, her nephew, Edward Elric would show up in a little glass booth and take her back home."

"And you believed her?" Sasha asked, mouth agape.

"Hell no! The only proof she had was that there was no record of her existence anywhere until my dad saw her 'fall from the sky' about four years before I was born."

"Maybe it's all one giant, elaborate prank your mom and dad planned," Connie suggested.

"I would say less of a prank and more pertaining to Eren's basement and whatever the hell is locked inside there," Reiner added, shrugging.

"I don't know what importance he has, but I need to find him," Eren insisted, standing up.

Mikasa grabbed his sleeve, "Eren. How do you know this is even real? It could just be someone trying to catch you off guard," She insisted, her eyes showing none of the worry she felt.

"It couldn't be. The only ones who knew about this were Mom, me, and Dad!" Eren yelled, yanking his arm away from Mikasa's grip.

"Maybe we can talk to Levi tomorrow," Armin half-squeaked.

"Or we could just go tonight!"

"You're not allowed to leave without an escort of trusted senior officers," Jean pointed out, also standing to meet Eren's eyes.

Eren stared him down. "Fine," he sighed exasperatedly, over exaggerating his annoyance with his friend. "But we should send out a military search to find him."

"On what grounds? We can't just capture a civilian because your mom might have known him," Jean retorted.

"We could claim we suspect him of being a titan shifter. It's common knowledge that eh Survey Corps is after them," Eren replied, stone faced.

"He has a point," Armin said hopefully after a moment of heated silence.

"If he does know something, it would be best to bring him in as soon as possible," Mikasa added.

Eren nodded sharply, "I'll go talk to the Corporal."

"Oh hell no you're not going alone," Jean smacked his hand on the table. Eren glared at him, which Jean returned coldly.

Eren turned and walked out of the room, pausing at the doorway to throw a cold comment to Jean. "Hey asshole, coming or not?"

…

The senior officers accepted their proposal and a squad went out in search of the mystery boy that night.

"If this kid and all of his magic shit turn out to be real, everyone will want him. The Military Police will want him dead, the Garrison will want him, we'll want him, hell, I bet even that frakking church will want their hands on him." Levi said as he toyed with a glass holding some variety of alcoholic beverage.

Eren nodded, "I know, sir, but-"

"But nothing. I just wish Erwin didn't trust brats like you so damn much." Levi muttered. "You're dismissed," He waved the two younger boys out of the room.

"How long do you think it'll take to find him?" Jean asked as they descended the stairs into the cool, musty basement.

"Not long. If Christa says she's seen him then there's a good chance he's somewhere in the area," Eren replied. "They'll probably have him by morning."

"That's assuming they give top priority to this goose-chase of yours."

"It's too great of a coincidence to not be important."

"But he's six years late, if he indeed is here to whisk your mom away."

"Closer to twenty."

"Twenty?"

"Yeah. The first record of her anywhere is twenty years ago in the Shinganshina medical records."

"So we are accepting the fact that your mother is from another world?"

Eren was quiet. "Not just yet."

…

"Get your shitty ass out of bed!" Corporal Reveille yelled into the dungeon cell that had become Eren's room. The younger boy groaned and sat up.

"What is it, heichou?" he moaned as he fought to wake up.

"We found that brat you sent us after. You'd better get up there quickly, or Hanji will have dissected him before you get a word in." Levi grimaced and walked away.

Blinking sleep from his eyes, Eren stumbled out of bed and threw his clothes on. As the reality of what Levi had said sank in, Eren's excited anger began to flourish and he became steadily more alert. Without meaning to, Eren realized he was running for the stairs. This boy was real. He very possibly had known his mom. That was all that was certain. He could know something about the basement. If he could do magic then he could be useful. Eren never would have considered the magic portion of the rumor to be true if his mother hadn't also testified towards that fact. In any sense, it all would be determined now.

He reached the top of the stairs. Two older officers were braced against the thrashing of a short, blond boy. This couldn't possibly be Edward, could it? He was just so… small.

"Get your bloody hands off me!" the boy yelled, trying frantically to pull his hands away from the officers holding him captive. "I told you, I'm not a damned titan shifter! I've only seen one of the bloody things in my life! Dammit, let go!" he yelled. He really didn't look like much. Long, blond hair framed intensely gold eyes. He was wearing a red coat that looked like it'd seen more wear than it was worth atop a solid black outfit. White gloves covered his hands. It almost looked like he was trying to hide something. Maybe the metal rumor was true.

Hanji bounced over to Eren. "We found him and I am dying to do some tests so-"

"_Hanji," _Erwin warned from the side of the room. She bowed her head in submission and walked over to her commander's side.

"Tests? If you try any funny business is swear to- dammit don't hold me so tight! I'm just looking for someone. _Peacefully. _Do any of you know Karla Elric?" The blond looked around the room hopefully.

Rage boiled in Eren's chest. This brat was looking for his mom. Before anyone could say anything to stop him, Eren's fist was hurtling toward the soft spot in Edward's abdomen. "You know nothing about my mom!" Eren yelled as the smaller boy doubled over in pain.

Edward coughed as he tried to catch his breath. "And who, exactly, is your mom?"

"Are you pretending not to know?!" From the other side of the room, some people moved to restrain Eren. Erwin waved them back. Eren could sort this out on his own.

The blond boy's eyes went wide. "Oh no. how long has it been? You can't be her kid! I saw her a week ago! Where is she? Can I see her?"

"She's dead. She's been dead for nearly six years, you bastard!"

The fire left the small boy's golden eyes. He looked down slowly, as if in defeat. "No…" he breathed. "Dammit, NO. I promised her. _I promised her I would get her home!_ Dammit I'm always too frakking late!" he screamed at the floor, his voice obviously threatening to break. The officers holding him released his arms and he collapsed to the floor. "Dammit, why?" he moaned.

"Really effective, Eren. Nice work," Jean called from the top of the stairs.

"Shut it, asshole," Eren said, throwing a nasty look over his shoulder to the taller boy.

"Maybe you can tell us who you are, exactly," Erwin offered as a conversational change of course.

The blond looked up to meet Erwin's gaze. "My name is Edward Elric, son of Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim. I'm sixteen years old, I'm a State Alchemist, and I just want to get back home."

Zoe Hanji's face lit up. "Alchemy? I've heard about Alchemy. It was proven impossible about 3,000 years ago, was it not?"

"Hanji, where did you learn this?" Erwin asked.

"From that time I snuck into the Emperor's palace library and read as much as I could about human history and the outside world," Hanji beamed.

"Should've guessed," Levi rolled his eyes at his friend's ridiculous enthusiasm.

"Anywho, Alchemy," Zoe motioned Edward to keep talking.

"It should be impossible in this world, but something happened and I can do Alchemy here. Like this," Ed clapped his hands together and pressed tem to the floor. To everyone's amazement, the floor morphed and changed shape under his hands to take the form of a small, wooden doll. Some officers became uneasy and reached for their swords.

"That's amazing! Levi, can I keep him?" Hanji exclaimed, grabbing the Corporal's arm.

"Say, do you have any military experience with that 'State Alchemist' title?" Erwin asked as Levi tried to pull Hanji off of him.

"Yeah. I've been an Alchemist for the State Military since I was twelve."

"Well then, it's going to get out that we have you, and knowing the Military Police, they're going to want to kill you. So we can fight to keep you in the Recon Corps if you want," Erwin smiled. Having someone like this in the Recon Corps would mean big things in terms of success rate.

Ed look flustered. "Uh, sure. But only because I have nothing better to do."

Eren grimaced. Did he really have to stay?


End file.
